Natural Grocers v. Perdue
- James Donato
- 3:20-cv-05151
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 1
In Natural Grocers v. Perdue, Judge Donato ordered the government to produce a privilege log by August 13, 2021.
The government defendants were required to produce the privilege log; the plaintiffs were affected because the log concerned documents withheld from production.
What happened
Natural Grocers and other plaintiffs disagreed with the government about whether a privilege log had to accompany the administrative record.
The government acknowledged that requiring such a log is the prevailing practice in the Northern District of California. The court directed the government to produce one that follows the court’s standing order for discovery in civil cases.
Judge James Donato issued the order on July 26, 2021, and set August 13, 2021, as the production deadline.
The detailed version
- Natural Grocers v. Perdue · No. 3:20-cv-05151
- James Donato
- July 26, 2021
Background
The parties disputed the government’s privilege log. A privilege log identifies documents withheld from production based on a claimed legal privilege and generally provides information sufficient to evaluate that claim. The government recognized that the Northern District of California generally requires a privilege log to be produced with the administrative record.
Order
The court directed the government to produce, by August 13, 2021, a privilege log conforming to the court’s Standing Order for Discovery in Civil Cases. The order cited the importance of access to relevant facts in promoting a fair search for the truth.
Disposition
Judge James Donato entered the privilege-log order. The excerpt does not state any other ruling on the parties’ claims.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.