Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. v. Tarantino

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

San Francisco Division

ARTHUR J. GALLAGHER & CO., Case No. 20-cv-05505-EMC (LB)

Plaintiff,

DISCOVERY ORDER v.

Re: ECF No. 46

DON TARANTINO, et al.,

Defendants.

Plaintiff Author J. Gallagher & Co. is an insurance-brokerage firm that obtains insurance policies for its clients from third-party insurance companies. A competitor, Alliant Insurance, hired 15 Gallagher employees, including the four defendants. Gallagher alleged that the defendants stole internal documents containing its trade secrets. It thus sued them for trade-secrets misappropriation in violation of 18 U.S.C § 1832 and Cal. Civ. Code § 3426, among other claims.1 The parties disputed whether Gallagher identified its trade secrets with the reasonable particularity required by California’s Uniform Trade Secrets Act (CUTSA), Cal. Civ. Proc. §

1 Second Am. Compl. (SAC) – ECF No. 40 at 2 (¶ 8), 12–20 (¶¶ 46–94); Joint Case-Management Statement – ECF No. 35 at 3. Citations refer to material in the Electronic Case File (ECF); pinpoint ] 2019.210.? At the March 25, 2021 discovery hearing, the parties worked out the following || compromise.

3 Gallagher disclosed three categories of trade secrets. But as it turned out, all categories are abot || Gallagher’s compilations about current and former customers (roughly 350 to 375 customers) in th form of customer contact lists and customer information that is not available publicly. The parties || agreed at the hearing that this would serve as a sufficient identification of the trade secrets at issue. 7 || Given that the landscape of discovery is limited to those customers (and as discussed at the hearing || this takes care of any concern that the disclosure is so broad that it prevents the defendants from || effectively defending against the charges of trade-secret misappropriation. It also avoids the defendants’ concern that Gallagher’s discovery will be a means to obtain Alliant’s trade secrets. Advanced Modular Sputtering, Inc. v. Super. Ct., 132 Cal. App. 4th 826, 833-34 (2005) (the purpo || of § 2019.210 include (1) promoting well-investigated claims and dissuading meritless ones, (2) E 13 || preventing plaintiffs from using the discovery process as a means to obtain the defendant’s trade || secrets, (3) assisting the court in managing the discovery process, and (4) enabling defendants to fc || well-reasoned defenses and ensuring that they need not wait until the eve of trial effectively defend || against charges of trade secret misappropriation). i 17 This resolves the dispute at ECF No. 46. Attached is the court’s order describing the court’s Z 18 || procedures for addressing future discovery disputes.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: March 25, 2021 LAE

LAUREL BEELER

73 United States Magistrate Judge

* Discovery Letter — ECF No. 46; Referral Order — ECF No. 47 (referring discovery disputes).