Janson et al v. LegalZoom.com, Inc.

Filing 123

MOTION for discovery to Reopen Discovery and Compel Production filed by Timothy W. Van Ronzelen on behalf of All Plaintiffs. Suggestions in opposition/response due by 7/5/2011 unless otherwise directed by the court. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit)(Van Ronzelen, Timothy)

IN UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
CENTRAL DIVISION
TODD JANSON, et al., on behalf of
themselves and on behalf of all others
similarly situated,

Plaintiffs,
v.
LEGALZOOM.COM, INC.

Defendant.

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Case No. 2:10-cv-04018-NKL

PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION TO RE-OPEN LIMITED DISCOVERY
AND COMPEL PRODUCTION

Come now, plaintiffs, by and through counsel, and state as follows for their Motion to
Re-Open Discovery and Compel Production:
1.

This Court entered a Scheduling Order in this case whereby discovery closed on

March 9, 2011. See, Doc. Number 22.
2.

The parties complied with this Scheduling Order and following discovery

Defendant submitted a Motion for Summary Judgment and Plaintiffs submitted a Motion for
Partial Summary Judgment, both of which are currently pending before this Court.
3.

Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment is based largely on the argument that

it does nothing more than provide a service akin to a “form” service where consumers purchase
documents with blanks in them and fill in the blanks themselves. See, Legalzoom.com’s
Suggestions In Support of Summary Judgment, Doc. No. 91.
4.

In discovery, Plaintiffs requested advertisements from Defendant. Various

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television, radio and internet advertisements through approximately January, 2011 were
produced, and Plaintiffs inquired about them in depositions. In addition, Plaintiffs used some of
this testimony and the advertisements in their Suggestions In Opposition to Defendant’s Motion
for Summary Judgment. See, Doc. No. 113 (Plaintiffs’ Additional Uncontroverted Material
Facts, 3. – 8., 12.).
5.

One of Plaintiffs’ counsel recently heard an advertisement for Defendant in

which, to the best of Plaintiffs’ counsel’s recollection, Defendant advertised that it offered
services which were far in excess of a “fill in the blank form” and provided documents 0which
were “personalized” to the user’s needs. See, VanRonzelen Affidavit, attached hereto as Exhibit
A and incorporated herein by this reference. This advertisement was not previously produced
and presumably was created and aired after the close of discovery in this case.
6.

Counsel for Plaintiffs requested Defendant’s counsel produce a copy of the

advertisement described above, but that request was refused.
7.

Plaintiffs seek to re-open discovery for the limited purpose of compelling

production of this single advertisement, as it is contrary to the position Defendant takes in its
Motion for Summary Judgment and will presumably take at trial. Accordingly, it is extremely
relevant to the issues in this case.
8.

In making this limited request, Plaintiffs do not seek to stay any proceedings or

cause any delay in the case or the trial of this matter.
WHEREFORE, plaintiffs respectfully request this Court enter an Order requiring
Defendant Legalzoom.com, Inc. to produce the advertisement referenced above and in Exhibit A,
in addition to such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper.

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Respectfully submitted,

___/s/ Timothy W. Van Ronzelen ____
Timothy Van Ronzelen, #44382
Matthew A. Clement, #43833
Kari A. Schulte, #57739
COOK, VETTER, DOERHOFF & LANDWEHR
231 Madison
Jefferson City, Missouri 65101
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: 573-635-7414
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
and

Edward D. Robertson, Jr., # 27183
Mary Doerhoff Winter, # 38328
BARTIMUS, FRICKLETON, ROBERTSON
& GORNY
715 Swifts Highway
Jefferson City, MO 65109
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: 573 659-4460
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

David T. Butsch, # 37539
James J. Simeri, #52506
BUTSCH SIMERI FIELDS LLC
231 S. Bemiston Ave., Ste. 260
Clayton, MO 63105
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: 314-863-5711
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

Randall O. Barnes, #39884
RANDALL O. BARNES & ASSOCIATES
219 East Dunklin Street, Suite A
Jefferson City, Missouri 65101
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: 573-635-6291
[e-mail]

Steven E. Dyer, #45397
LAW OFFICES OF STEVEN DYER
10850 Sunset Office Drive, Ste. 300
St. Louis, MO 63127
Telephone: [phone]
[e-mail]

ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFFS
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I certify that on June 17, 2011, I served this paper upon the following via this Court’s
ECF system:

Party

Counsel
Robert M. Thompson
James T. Wicks
BRYAN CAVE LLP
One Kansas City Place
1200 Main Street, Ste. 3500
Kansas City, MO 64105
816.374.3200, 816.374.3300 (fax)

Defendant
LegalZoom.com, Inc.

John Michael Clear
Michael Biggers
James Wyrsch
BRYAN CAVE LLP
One Metropolitan Square – Ste. 3600
211 N. Broadway
St. Louis, MO 63102
314.250.2000, 314.259.2020 (fax)

___/s/Timothy W. Van Ronzelen __

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