Judge: Elaine Lu, Case: 21STCV24026, Date: 2022-10-10 Tentative Ruling





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Case Number: 21STCV24026    Hearing Date: October 10, 2022    Dept: 26

On September 13, 2022, the Court granted defendant Townsgate Wealth Management’s motion to compel Plaintiff’s further responses to request for production of documents number 12.

On September 15, 2022, the Court set its own motion for reconsideration noting that the Court was inclined to modify its September 13, 2022 order to require the entry of an attorneys eyes only protective order as a condition of the production of documents for request number 12 for October 10, 2022.

The Court noted that any party that opposed the Court’s own motion for reconsideration must file an opposition by September 22, 2022.  The Court also required that if Plaintiff wishes for the court to grant its own motion for reconsideration, Plaintiff must file and serve a proposed attorneys’ eyes-only protective order based on the Los Angeles Superior Court form model protective order by September 19, 2022, or the Court would deny the Court’s own motion for reconsideration.

On September 15, 2022, Plaintiff filed a proposed Stipulation and Protective Order based on the Los Angeles Superior Court form model protective order.  On September 16, 2022, Plaintiff filed a redlined comparison of the model protective order and the proposed protective order. 

Defendant Townsgate Wealth Management has not filed any opposition to the Court’s own motion for reconsideration.

The Court rules as follows on its own motion for reconsideration.

As previously noted, while Plaintiff has waived the attorney client privilege as to Defendants in this action, Defendant has not identified any reason why Defendant should be permitted to insist on producing unredacted billing records to other parties, including Plaintiff’s former husband who is actively litigating the divorce action against Plaintiff.  For this reason, Plaintiff requested in the alternative in her opposition to the instant motion that the court issue a protective order for the documents to be produced in response to request for production number 12.  (Opp. at p.5:11-16.)  Given the sensitive nature of the billing records, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s request for an attorneys eyes only protective order as a condition of the production of documents in response to request for production number 12.

The Court’s September 13, 2022 Order is modified as follows:

Defendant Townsgate Wealth Management, LLC’s Motion to Compel Further Responses to the Request for Production of Documents is MOOT as to requests No. 1, and 4-11.  Defendant Townsgate Wealth Management, LLC’s Motion to Compel Further Responses to the Request for Production of Documents is GRANTED as to request No. 12 on the condition that the parties enter into the proposed protective order filed September 15, 2022.

If Defendant Townsgate Wealth Management, LLC has any objections or proposed modifications to the language of the proposed Stipulation and Protective Order that Plaintiff filed on September 15, 2022, Defendant Townsgate should meet and confer with Plaintiff’s counsel before the Court calls this case on October 10, 2022.  Otherwise, the parties should sign the stipulation and electronically file the stipulation before the Court calls this case on October 10, 2022. 

Upon entry of the Protective order, Plaintiff Patricia Costello-Goldstein is ordered to serve further, verified, code-compliant response to Defendant Townsgate Wealth Management, LLC’s Request for Production of Documents No. 12 without objection, and produce responsive documents within thirty (30) days.  Plaintiff’s production of documents responsive to Defendant Townsgate Wealth Management, LLC’s Request for Production of Documents No. 12 is subject to the protective order.

The court clerk shall give notice of this order to all parties electronically and by mail.