Filed: Apr. 17, 2015
Latest Update: Apr. 17, 2015
Summary: ORDER DENYING MOTION TO COMPEL JAMES L. ROBART , District Judge . Before the court is Plaintiff LegalZoom.com, Inc.'s ("LegalZoom") motion to compel the production of documents by and deposition of non-party Michael Margolis. ( See Mot. (Dkt. #1).) LegalZoom seeks documents pertaining to a project that Mr. Margolis worked on as an employee of Google Ventures, a subsidiary of Google, Inc. ("Google"). (Veltman Decl. (Dkt. #7) 3.) LegalZoom recently filed a similar motion to compel against
Summary: ORDER DENYING MOTION TO COMPEL JAMES L. ROBART , District Judge . Before the court is Plaintiff LegalZoom.com, Inc.'s ("LegalZoom") motion to compel the production of documents by and deposition of non-party Michael Margolis. ( See Mot. (Dkt. #1).) LegalZoom seeks documents pertaining to a project that Mr. Margolis worked on as an employee of Google Ventures, a subsidiary of Google, Inc. ("Google"). (Veltman Decl. (Dkt. #7) 3.) LegalZoom recently filed a similar motion to compel against G..
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ORDER DENYING MOTION TO COMPEL
JAMES L. ROBART, District Judge.
Before the court is Plaintiff LegalZoom.com, Inc.'s ("LegalZoom") motion to compel the production of documents by and deposition of non-party Michael Margolis. (See Mot. (Dkt. #1).) LegalZoom seeks documents pertaining to a project that Mr. Margolis worked on as an employee of Google Ventures, a subsidiary of Google, Inc. ("Google"). (Veltman Decl. (Dkt. #7) ¶ 3.) LegalZoom recently filed a similar motion to compel against Google in the Northern District of California ("Northern District"). (See 3/25/15 Letter (Dkt. #14)); see also LegalZoom.com v. Rocket Lawyer, Inc., No. 5:15-mc-80003-NC (N.D. Cal.) Dkt. #1. The subpoena to Google at issue in that motion is virtually identical to the subpoena to Mr. Margolis at issue in this motion. (Compare Margolis Sub. (Dkt. #7-1) with Google Sub. (Dkt. #7-2).) On March 23, 2015, Magistrate Judge Cousins denied LegalZoom's motion to compel in the Northern District. See LegalZoom.com v. Rocket Lawyer, Inc., No. 5:15-mc-80003-NC (N.D. Cal.) Dkt. #10.
This court stayed the case pending adjudication of LegalZoom's motion for relief from Judge Cousins' order. (See 4/7/15 Order (Dkt. #15).) On April 15, 2015, Judge Koh denied LegalZoom's motion. See LegalZoom.com v. Rocket Lawyer, Inc., No. 5:15mc-80003-NC (N.D. Cal.) Dkt. #15 (finding that "there is no support for [LegalZoom's] position in either the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or case law"); (see also 4/16/16 Letter (Dkt. #16) Ex. A.) Accordingly, the court LIFTS the stay in this matter.
Having examined the parties' submissions, the record, and the relevant law, the court finds that the reasoning of the Northern District is persuasive. The court independently adopts the Northern District's reasoning and incorporates it herein. Consistent with that reasoning, the court concludes that LegalZoom has not met its burden under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45(d)(1) to take "reasonable steps to avoid imposing undue burden or expense" on non-party Mr. Margolis. See LegalZoom.com v. Rocket Lawyer, Inc., No. 5:15-mc-80003-NC (N.D. Cal.) Dkt. #10; Fed. R. Civ. P. 45(d)(1). Accordingly, the court DENIES LegalZoom's motion to compel (Dkt. #1).
