Primo Broodstock, Inc. v. American Mariculture, Inc. et al

Filing 129

ORDER denying without prejudice 124 Plaintiff TB Foods USA LLC's Amended Motion to Compel as to its First Set of Requests for Production Directed to All Defendants and for Sanctions. Plaintiff may file a second amended motion to compel, if necessary, on or before December 14, 2018. Signed by Magistrate Judge Carol Mirando on 10/22/2018. (APH)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
FORT MYERS DIVISION
PB LEGACY, INC. and TB FOODS
USA, LLC, a Texas Corporation
Plaintiffs,
v.

Case No: 2:17-cv-9-FtM-29CM

AMERICAN MARICULTURE,
INC., AMERICAN PENAEID, INC.
and ROBIN PEARL,
Defendants.
ORDER
This matter comes before the Court upon review of Plaintiff TB Foods USA
LLC’s (“TB Foods”) Amended Motion to Compel as to its First Set of Requests for
Production Directed to all Defendants and for Sanctions filed on September 26, 2018.
Doc. 124.

Defendants have not filed a response, and the time for doing so has

passed. For the reasons stated below, the motion is denied without prejudice.
Plaintiff PB Legacy, Inc. (“PB Legacy”) filed this case on January 9, 2017, and
filed an Amended Complaint on January 26, 2017, alleging claims for breach of
contract; conversion; defamation; trade secret misappropriation under the Defend
Trade Secrets Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1836; trade secret misappropriation under the Florida
Trade Secrets Act; unfair competition; violations of the Florida Unfair and Deceptive
Trade Practices Act; and unjust enrichment. Doc. 1; Doc. 20 ¶¶ 82-175. The claims
relate to Defendants’ alleged misappropriation of and defamatory statements about
PB Legacy’s broodstock shrimp breeding method, called the “all pathogens exposed”

method, which developed disease-resistant strains of shrimp. See Doc. 20 ¶¶ 10-80.
On May 15, 2017, the Court allowed PB Legacy to add TB Foods as a Plaintiff, as TB
Foods had purchased “substantially all of [PB Legacy’s] assets” as of February 17,
2017.

Doc. 87; Doc. 86 at 2.

On May 24, 2018, the Court entered a Case

Management and Scheduling Order setting the discovery deadline for June 28, 2019
and setting the case for a trial term beginning December 2, 2019. Doc. 105 at 1-2.
TB Foods originally filed its Motion to Compel as to its First Set of Requests
for Production Directed to All Defendants and for Sanctions on July 17, 2018. Doc.
106. In the motion, TB Foods represented it served its First Set of Requests for
Production (“RFP”) on December 20, 2017. Id. at 1. The motion noted multiple
outstanding issues, including that Defendants’ second production of documents was
insufficient; Defendants inappropriately designated certain documents “Attorneys’
Eyes Only;” Defendants inappropriately redacted certain documents; and Defendants
failed to provide a privilege log. Id. at 2-3. Defendants requested extensions of
time to respond to the motion on July 31, 2018, August 3, 2018 and August 14, 2018,
explaining that the parties were negotiating in good faith to attempt to resolve the
issues raised by the motion.

See Docs. 112, 114, 116. On September 17, 2018,

Defendants’ latest deadline to respond, TB Foods filed a motion requesting time to
amend or withdraw its motion to compel based on the parties’ continuing efforts to
resolve the issues. See Doc. 121.
TB Foods then filed the present motion on September 26, 2018. Doc. 124.
TB Foods represents that the parties’ meet-and-confer efforts resolved all but three

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issues: (1) Defendants failed to make a supplemental production on or before August
24, 2018, as the parties agreed; (2) Defendants’ produced privilege log does not comply
with the requirements of Rule 26(b)(5)(A)(ii) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure;
and (3) TB Foods’ request for sanctions “remains unresolved” but “will be withdrawn
if the substantive issues, above, are resolved.” Id. at 1-3. TB Foods represents that
the parties are continuing to engage in the meet-and-confer process to resolve the
issues without court intervention. Id. at 3-4.
On October 1, 2018, the Court entered an Order denying the original motion to
compel as moot and directing TB Foods to file a notice with the Court on or before
October 5, 2018 to advise the Court whether the amended motion would be
withdrawn. Doc. 125. On October 5, 2018, TB Foods filed a notice stating that
since the filing of the amended motion Defendants had produced more responsive
materials, but the production did not resolve the issues raised by the amended
motion. Doc. 127 at 1-2. TB Foods stated that it would “again meet and confer
with Defendants as required by Local Rule 3.01(g)” and requested that, “[g]iven the
inordinate amount of time that has passed” since TB Foods served its first RFP, the
Court “grant leave for TB Food[s] to file its Second Amended Motion to Compel if
Defendants have not provide[d]” adequate responsive materials “by a date certain in
a short but reasonable time.” Id. at 2. The Court also notes that the parties have
scheduled early mediation for December 7, 2018. Doc. 128. Due to the length of
time since TB Foods filed the original motion to compel, the parties’ ongoing efforts
to resolve the issues raised by the amended motion, and the parties’ scheduled

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mediation, the Court will deny the amended motion without prejudice and allow TB
Foods to file a second amended motion, if necessary, on or before December 14, 2018.
The parties are directed to meaningfully confer to attempt to resolve the issues raised
by the amended motion to compel.
ACCORDINGLY, it is
ORDERED:
Plaintiff TB Foods USA LLC’s Amended Motion to Compel as to its First Set
of Requests for Production Directed to all Defendants and for Sanctions (Doc. 124) is
DENIED without prejudice. Plaintiff may file a second amended motion to compel,
if necessary, on or before December 14, 2018.
DONE and ORDERED in Fort Myers, Florida on this 22nd day of October,
2018.

Copies:
Counsel of record

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