Roblox Corporation v. WowWee Group Limited

Background

WowWee served Gamefam, Inc. with a subpoena requiring a deposition and document production in the lawsuit Roblox brought against WowWee. Gamefam was not a party to that lawsuit. The subpoena sought information about Gamefam’s communications and relationship with Roblox, including matters involving WowWee’s My Avastars Fashion Dolls and the related online experience.

Gamefam and WowWee’s lawyers negotiated for more than two months and narrowed the subpoena’s scope. Gamefam ultimately produced 79 documents, and its Chief Business Officer, Ricardo Briceno, testified at a deposition. Gamefam retained outside counsel and vendors to collect, preserve, review, and produce documents. Gamefam requested reimbursement of its subpoena-related expenses; WowWee opposed the request.

Rule 45 Analysis

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45 requires a party issuing a subpoena to take reasonable steps to avoid imposing undue burden or expense on the person subpoenaed. The rule also requires protection for a nonparty from significant expenses resulting from compliance with a subpoena. The court concluded that WowWee did not take reasonable steps to avoid burdening Gamefam because it sought, on a short timetable, information from Gamefam that could have been or was requested from Roblox. The court also concluded that WowWee knew Gamefam would seek reimbursement, so cost-shifting was available even though no order compelling discovery had been entered.

The court treated the following expenses as compensable: negotiating limits on the subpoena’s scope; locating and collecting potentially responsive documents; hiring CyberDuo to locate, collect, preserve, and upload documents; hiring Streamline Imaging to process and produce documents; reviewing documents for responsiveness and confidentiality; assembling and redacting documents; preparing a privilege log; preparing for and attending the deposition and processing its transcript; paying the final transcript charge; and Gamefam employees’ time spent on subpoena-related tasks.

The court rejected reimbursement for time spent preparing written objections to the subpoena because that work was not compliance with the subpoena. It also rejected expenses for negotiating, researching, assembling, and preparing Gamefam’s reimbursement motion because those costs were related to seeking reimbursement rather than complying with the subpoena.

The court found that the compensable expenses totaled $149,565.34 and were significant considering Gamefam’s ability to bear them. The court noted Gamefam’s evidence that the subpoena required substantial resources, outside services, and expenses that exceeded its legal budget line item.

Disposition

The court granted in part Gamefam’s request for reimbursement and ordered WowWee to reimburse Gamefam $149,565.34 in costs associated with responding to the subpoena under Rule 45. The court also granted WowWee’s administrative motion to file portions of its response under seal. It denied WowWee’s separate administrative sealing motion, although highlighted portions of the opposition remained sealed because they were also covered by the granted sealing motion.