Better Holdco, Inc. v. Beeline Loans, Inc.

Background

The filing is a letter from Better Holdco, Inc. to the court under the local rule governing discovery conferences. Better said that it and Beeline Loans, Inc. had held meet-and-confer calls on April 5 and April 7, 2021, but had not resolved the disputes.

Discovery Disputes Raised by Better

Better asserted that Beeline had produced electronic documents with inaccurate metadata, including incorrect original folder paths and creation dates. Better said it needed reliable metadata to determine where its information moved within Beeline’s organization and who may have accessed it. Better asked the court to direct Beeline to collect and produce the documents again with intact metadata.

Better also asserted that Beeline had redacted documents based on confidentiality rather than privilege, even though a protective order covered confidential and attorneys’-eyes-only information. Better requested immediate production of unredacted copies of documents redacted for confidentiality.

Finally, Better asked the court to prohibit depositions of four members of its in-house legal department. Better argued that the information Beeline sought about an employee’s exit interview and an affidavit could be obtained from the employee, and that questioning the lawyers could implicate attorney-client privilege and attorney work product. Better also said the lawyers had acted as company counsel when investigating and addressing alleged disclosure of Better’s trade secrets and were involved in managing the lawsuit.

Court’s Order

The court ordered the parties to appear for a teleconference on April 20, 2021, at 11:30 a.m. The court directed counsel to continue discussing the issues in an effort to resolve them before the conference. The text does not state that the court granted or denied Better’s requests, rule on the propriety of the redactions or metadata, or decide whether the lawyer depositions could proceed.