ELIZABETH T. HEY, Magistrate Judge.
Brand once again asks the court for an order compelling Irex "to produce financial reports prepared in the ordinary of course of business that show the profit Irex earns on each job for a Brand customer or how money flowed between the Irex entities." Doc. 298 at 1. Irex responds that it "cannot run the reports requested by Brand" and that the court has previously ruled on this exact issue on two prior occasions (once after hearing oral argument). Doc. 302 at 2, 3.
Brand also filed a motion for leave to file exhibits. Doc. 300.
A basic description of the documentation that Irex has produced in discovery is necessary to understand the crux of Brand's request. Prior to the oral argument I held in October on one of Brand's motions to compel similar documents, Irex produced several reports that are generated in the ordinary course of business, including the Earned Revenue and Margin Report, which contains job-level detail (including contract amount, and revenue and margin for the job-to-date and year-to-date), and the Recognized Revenue Report, which is a customer-based report (identifying the customer, revenue and margin). Dodd Dep. at 195:20-196:14; 212:4-213:2; 223:2-14;
Since that time, Brand has taken additional depositions which undermine the basis for my conclusion with respect to some of the information Brand seeks.
Mr. Dodd's testimony regarding the collection of information regarding the job costs is supported by Mr. Banks' testimony. According to Mr. Banks, the "job cost software captures all the costs for every job . . ., whether it's a hundred dollar job or a $10 million job." Banks' Dep at 210:6-10. It was kept in a "line item" fashion including expenses for equipment, labor, insurance, and would include subcontracting agreements, including those with other Irex entities.
Irex responds that it has produced the reports that it maintains in the ordinary course of business. Beyond that, Irex argues that although additional data or information may be kept in Irex's accounting system, and is electronically accessible, such information is not reported on any regularly run financial reports, Irex cannot be compelled to create the type of reports Brand seeks, and Brand has failed to show that such reports have any relevance to the litigation. Doc. 302 at 3, 4.
Addressing the last of Irex's responses first, the profit made by Irex on contracts with former Brand customers is the key to Brand's damages in this case. Rule 26(b) defines the scope of discovery to include matters "that [are] relevant to any party's claim or defense and proportional to the needs of the case." Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b). The documentation already produced by Irex shows the revenue and profit generated on the job level. However, that report does not identify any charges incurred by other Irex entities working on the same job, and that gap could allow Irex to artificially minimize Brand's damages by offsetting charges by another Irex entity without accounting for the profit made by the other Irex entity. Mr. Banks testified that line item job costs are kept in the accounting program and readily accessible, and include payments made internally to other Irex entities and externally. Banks Dep. at 214:20-215:6. Thus, the relevant information exists in the accounting program.
To the extent Irex argues that it cannot run and cannot be compelled to run the reports in the format requested by Brand, I reject Irex's argument. Rule 34 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure allows discovery of electronically stored information. Fed. R. Civ. P. 34(a)(1)(A). Mr. Dodd testified that he could go into the accounting system, pull up a specific job, and see the precise expenses of the job and who the vendor for each expense was. Dodd Dep. at 288:25-290:4. Mr. Dodd confirmed that such reports were created at least once a month, but he did not know if such reports were printed.
To the extent Irex implies that it has produced this information in other documentation, I also reject the argument. Specifically, Irex refers to the "Related Parties" section of the financial statements of the Irex entities. Doc. 302 at 4 n.4. However, the information contained in this section of the financial statements is more general and does not identify the job for which services were rendered.
Therefore, I will grant Brand's motion to compel in part. Irex shall produce the line item reports referred to by Mr. Banks in his deposition (Banks Dep. at 213:21-215:6) and Mr. Dodd (Dodd Dep. at 288:1-290:12) for each of the former Brand customers and projects referred to in the Amended Complaint and used in the search terms for the Forensic Protocol.
An appropriate Order follows.