Arbol Inc. v. HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. and Scott Klemm

Background

The parties appeared before the court for a discovery conference concerning discovery issues raised in recent letter submissions. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims in detail, but it refers to Arbol’s alleged trade secrets and the parties’ dispute over the scope of discovery.

Orders Concerning Trade Secrets and Discovery

The court ordered Arbol, by November 4, 2025, to file a letter of no more than five pages identifying up to five alleged trade secrets with “reasonable particularity,” meaning enough detail to identify the information being claimed as secret. The court strongly encouraged Arbol to cite specific documents that had already been produced, if available, and to explain any reasonable measures taken to keep the information secret. The order stated that this submission would not prevent Arbol from identifying additional trade secrets later in the litigation, while encouraging Arbol to identify the claims it considered strongest.

After receiving Arbol’s letter, the defendants were ordered to immediately revise their discovery responses and requests to reflect the identified trade secrets and to meet and confer with Arbol about the revised scope of discovery. Each party was ordered to file a status letter of no more than five pages by November 18, 2025, describing the meet-and-confer process and the progress of discovery.

Other Matters and Disposition

The court deferred ruling on the parties’ request to extend the time for completing discovery until after it reviewed the status letters. The parties were encouraged to consider settlement discussions and were given instructions for requesting a settlement conference. The order was entered by Sarah Netburn, United States Magistrate Judge.