Contract analysis

I. INTRODUCTION Defendant and Cross-Complainant Aurelius Media Americas Inc. ("AMA") respectfully moves this Court for an order compelling Plaintiff Gavin Aldrich ("Aldrich") to serve further, code-compliant responses to AMA's Requests for Production Nos. 8, 11, 12, 13, and 14, and to produce all documents responsive thereto. This motion is made pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure section 2031.310 and is s

II. STATEMENT OF RELEVANT FACTS A. Background — Aldrich's Employment and Termination Aldrich was employed by AMA from September 5, 2017 through October 14, 2022, serving as Senior Vice President of Original Content and Executive Producer. (Petrov Decl. ¶ 3.) In that role, Aldrich was responsible for overseeing the development and production of AMA's slate of unscripted and reality television programming, a line of bu

Section 9.4 of the Employment Agreement, titled "Confidentiality," imposes an indefinite obligation on Aldrich prohibiting the disclosure, use, or transmission of Confidential Information to any person or entity other than in furtherance of his duties as an AMA employee. (Petrov Decl. ¶ 14; Petrov Decl., Ex. A [RFP Set referencing Employment Agreement provisions].) The Employment Agreement defines "Confidential Infor

III. PROCEDURAL HISTORY OF THE DISCOVERY DISPUTE A. AMA's Requests for Production (February 20, 2023) On February 20, 2023, AMA served its First Set of Requests for Production of Documents (Nos. 1–28) on Aldrich, pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure section 2031.010 et seq. (Petrov Decl. ¶ 18; Petrov Decl., Ex. A.) The requests were served by electronic transmission to Aldrich's counsel of record, Whitfield

IV. THE REQUESTS AT ISSUE AND ALDRICH'S DEFICIENT RESPONSES A. RFP No. 8 — All Communications Between Aldrich and Halcyon Creek Productions LLC, Nina Castellanos, or Any Agent Thereof The Request. AMA's RFP No. 8 requests: "All DOCUMENTS and COMMUNICATIONS between YOU and HALCYON CREEK PRODUCTIONS LLC, NINA CASTELLANOS, or any agent, representative, or employee of HALCYON CREEK PRODUCTIONS LLC or NINA CASTELLANOS, fr

V. LEGAL STANDARD A. California Code of Civil Procedure § 2031.310 — Motion to Compel Further Responses A party demanding inspection of documents may move for an order compelling further responses to a request for production if: (1) the responding party's statement of compliance with the demand is incomplete; (2) the responding party's representation of inability to comply is inadequate; or (3) an objection in the re

VI. ARGUMENT A. The Documents Are Directly Relevant to AMA's Cross-Claims and to Aldrich's Own Claims The documents and communications sought in RFP Nos. 8, 11, 12, 13, and 14 are not marginally relevant or tangentially related to this litigation. They are the central evidence in the case. AMA's cross-claims for breach of the Employment Agreement (Section 9.4), misappropriation of trade secrets (CUTSA), breach of fid

VII. RELIEF REQUESTED For all of the foregoing reasons, Defendant and Cross-Complainant Aurelius Media Americas Inc. respectfully requests that this Court issue an order:

1. Compelling Aldrich to serve further, verified, code-compliant responses to Requests for Production Nos. 8, 11, 12, 13, and 14 within fifteen (15) days of the date of the Court's Order, without objections except as to privilege, accompanied by a privilege log compliant with Code of Civil Procedure section 2031.240(c)(1) for any documents withheld on the basis of privilege;

2. Requiring Aldrich to search his personal email accounts — including but not limited to the account at galdrich.private@Northgate Software.com — for documents responsive to Requests for Production Nos. 8, 11, 12, and 13, and to produce all responsive, non-privileged documents. AMA requests that the Court either approve a search protocol proposed by the parties or, if the parties cannot agree on a protocol, specify

3. Requiring Aldrich to produce all documents responsive to Request for Production No. 14, including but not limited to the Halcyon Creek Productions LLC operating agreement, any correspondence reflecting discussions about a potential investment or equity interest, and any financial records showing payments or transfers between Aldrich and Halcyon Creek or Nina Castellanos. In the alternative, if Aldrich maintains th

4. Awarding AMA its reasonable attorneys' fees and costs incurred in bringing this motion, pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 2031.310, subdivision (h). Section 2031.310(h) provides that, except as specified, the court shall impose a monetary sanction under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 2023.010) against any party, person, or attorney who unsuccessfully makes or opposes a motion to compel further respon

VIII. MEET-AND-CONFER DECLARATION This motion is accompanied by the concurrently filed Declaration of Nadia Petrov (SBN 318945), which establishes AMA's compliance with the meet-and-confer requirements of Code of Civil Procedure section 2016.040. Ms. Petrov's declaration sets forth in detail the parties' meet-and-confer efforts, including the telephonic conference on April 5, 2023 and the subsequent written correspon

IX. CONCLUSION The documents sought in Requests for Production Nos. 8, 11, 12, 13, and 14 are at the heart of this case. They are directly and indisputably relevant to AMA's cross-claims for breach of the Employment Agreement, misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of fiduciary duty, and conversion. They are also relevant to Aldrich's own claims, as Aldrich has placed the factual basis for his "for cause" terminat