AT&T Enterprises, LLC v. Atos IT Solutions and Services, Inc.

Background

Atos asked the court to compel AT&T to supplement its second amended initial disclosures under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26. The request concerned AT&T’s damages claim for alleged breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

Rule 26(a)(1)(A)(iii) requires a party to provide a computation of each category of claimed damages and make available the documents or other evidence on which each computation is based. Atos argued that AT&T had not met this requirement. AT&T’s disclosures stated that the claimed damages included discounts provided under a 2021 amendment and the value of business that Atos allegedly diverted. AT&T estimated the total at $7,150,800.

Atos’s Position

Atos argued that AT&T’s calculation was based on multiplying $595,000 in discounts from January 2021 by 12 months. Atos contended that this did not provide a reliable calculation for the extension period from February 2021 to February 2022. It also argued that AT&T had not identified any customer allegedly diverted or calculated the value of that business.

Atos requested monthly information about services used, amounts billed, possible charges without the 2021 amendment, and the difference between those amounts. It also requested a list of allegedly diverted customers, dollar amounts for the diverted business, invoices, tracking records, pricing information, discount information, and other documents supporting the calculations.

Ruling

Judge Lewis J. Liman denied the motion. The court stated that Atos had failed to show a violation of Rule 26(a)(1)(A)(iii). The court found that AT&T had provided an estimate of damages and an analysis and had produced documents supporting that analysis. The clerk was directed to close the motions at Docket Numbers 135 and 136.

This order addressed the adequacy of damages disclosures and did not decide whether AT&T ultimately proved its underlying claim or damages.