Ophir v. Koneksa Health Inc

Background

Defendants asked the court to compel plaintiff Gol Ophir to return and destroy documents in his possession, including a memorandum prepared by Koneksa Health Inc.’s outside counsel and an email from Ophir to defendant Benko concerning the memorandum. Defendants also sought documents about Ophir’s compensation after his employment with Koneksa Health, particularly tax returns belonging to Ophir and any entity he controls.

Privileged Documents

The court noted that an April 30, 2024 order found that defendants had waived any privilege applicable to documents or communications substantively described in the complaint. Because the complaint described the memorandum and Ophir’s communications with Benko about its contents, the court denied defendants’ request to require Ophir to return or destroy those documents.

Tax Returns

The court applied a two-part test for compelling tax returns in a civil case: the returns must be relevant, and there must be a compelling need for them because the information is not otherwise readily obtainable. The court found that the returns were relevant to the case because they concerned damages. Although Ophir filed taxes jointly with his wife, that reduced the returns’ usefulness but did not make them irrelevant.

The court nevertheless found that defendants had not shown that the tax returns contained information unavailable through other sources, particularly Ophir’s deposition testimony about income sources after his employment ended. The court therefore denied defendants’ request for the tax returns, without prejudice to renewal.

Disposition

The court denied the request concerning the documents covered by the privilege waiver and denied the request for tax returns, without prejudice to renewal. The Clerk of Court was directed to close the motion at ECF No. 32.