ORDER RE DISCOVERY DISPUTE RE PLAINTIFF'S DOCUMENT REQUESTS

Re: Dkt. No. 123

VIRGINIA K. DEMARCHI, Magistrate Judge.

Plaintiff Alta Devices, Inc. ("Alta") seeks an order compelling defendant LG Electronics, Inc. ("LGE") to produce documents responsive to certain of Alta's document requests. The Court heard oral argument on June 25, 2019. Dkt. No. 127. For the reasons stated on the record and as further explained below, the Court denies Alta's motion to compel.

In this action, Alta claims that LGE has used and disclosed its confidential information in violation of the parties' 2011 non-disclosure agreement ("NDA"). See Dkt. Nos. 77, 97. Alta has served a number of document requests on LGE that encompass documents reflecting how LGE used information and product samples that Alta provided to LGE under a different NDA executed in 2014. Dkt. No. 123, Ex. B. LGE objects to this discovery on the ground that information disclosed pursuant to the parties' 2014 NDA is not relevant to the claims in this case. Id. at 6-7.

Alta's rationale for seeking discovery concerning information disclosed under the 2014 NDA is that if information disclosed under the 2014 NDA was provided to or used by LGE custodians who also received or used information disclosed under the 2011 NDA, discovery of the disclosure of 2014 NDA information to such custodians is relevant to Alta's claim for breach of the 2011 NDA because it suggests that LGE used the 2014 NDA information to further its unauthorized use of the 2011 NDA information. The Court is skeptical of the logic underlying this rationale. It is by no means self-evident that LGE's use or disclosure of information received under the 2014 NDA, which is not at issue in this case, informs in any way whether LGE used or disclosed without authorization information it received under the 2011 NDA.

LGE's objections to the scope of Alta's documents requests are well taken. Alta may not obtain discovery of the use or disclosure of information obtained under the parties' 2014 NDA. Alta asserts no claims relating to the 2014 NDA, and it has not articulated a sufficient basis for its thesis that discovery relating to that NDA informs its claim for breach of the 2011 NDA. Alta may take discovery of how LGE used or disclosed information LGE obtained under the parties' 2011 NDA. That discovery may include periods of time that post-date the disclosure term of the 2011 NDA, and such discovery is not barred simply because a particular document references both information provided under the 2011 NDA and information provided under the 2014 NDA.

Accordingly, Alta's motion to compel is denied, and LGE's document production shall proceed consistent with the scope of production outlined above in this order.

IT IS SO ORDERED.