Big Basin Vineyards LLC v. RSC Insurance Brokerage, Inc.
- Virginia Demarchi
- 5:23-cv-04860
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Big Basin Vineyards v. RSC Insurance Brokerage, Judge DeMarchi ordered Big Basin to produce settlement documents in a discovery dispute.
Big Basin Vineyards LLC must produce the requested settlement-related documents to RSC Insurance Brokerage, Inc.; the documents may receive appropriate protection under the protective order.
What happened
Big Basin Vineyards LLC and RSC Insurance Brokerage, Inc. asked the court to resolve a dispute over RSC’s requests for documents about Big Basin’s settlement of claims against Allied World Assurance Company (U.S.), Inc.
The court ruled that a confidentiality obligation in the settlement agreement did not prevent production of the requested documents. It also noted that Big Basin cited no authority supporting a privilege for settlement communications.
The court ordered Big Basin to promptly produce all responsive documents, while allowing appropriate designations under the protective order. Judge Virginia K. DeMarchi issued the order.
The detailed version
- Big Basin Vineyards LLC v. RSC Insurance Brokerage, Inc. · No. 5:23-cv-04860
- Virginia Demarchi
- Jan. 29, 2024
Background
The parties submitted a joint discovery dispute concerning RSC Insurance Brokerage, Inc.’s requests for documents relating to Big Basin Vineyards LLC’s settlement of breach-of-contract and insurance bad-faith claims against Allied World Assurance Company (U.S.), Inc. The court decided the dispute without oral argument.
Court’s Analysis
The court held that a contractual confidentiality obligation in the settlement agreement between Big Basin and Allied World did not prevent Big Basin from producing the requested documents. The court also stated that, to the extent Big Basin or Allied World argued that a privilege protected settlement communications from discovery, Big Basin had cited no authority supporting that privilege.
Order
The court ordered Big Basin to promptly produce all documents responsive to RSC’s requests concerning Big Basin’s settlement of its claims with Allied World. The documents could be designated under the protective order as appropriate. Judge Virginia K. DeMarchi issued the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.