FR EA
1012-00005 · Stonefield Logistics Group · Discovery/Propounded
cover-letter-first-production.docx DOCUMENT Litigation
54 / 150 ← → ✕
Contract analysis Extract to table

CALDERWOOD & HARKNESS LLP 200 Park Avenue, 38th Floor New York, New York 10166 Telephone: (212) 554-8000 Facsimile: (212) 554-8001 www.calderwoodharkness.com

April 14, 2023

VIA EMAIL AND ELECTRONIC PRODUCTION PLATFORM

Jason Whitford, Esq. Caldwell Royce & Shapiro LLP 1 Liberty Plaza, 22nd Floor New York, New York 10006

Re: Vantor Holdings Corp. v. Stonefield Logistics Group Inc., Case No. 22-cv-07841 (S.D.N.Y.) Defendant Stonefield Logistics Group Inc.'s First Production of Documents Calderwood & Harkness Matter No. 1012-00005

Dear Mr. Whitford:

I. Introduction and Purpose

We write on behalf of our client, defendant Stonefield Logistics Group Inc. ("Stonefield" or "SLG"), to accompany Stonefield's first production of documents in the above-captioned matter. This production is made pursuant to Plaintiff Vantor Holdings Corp.'s ("Vantor" or "Plaintiff") First Request for Production of Documents, which was served on Stonefield on March 20, 2023, as well as in compliance with the Case Management Order entered by the Honorable Margaret T. Calloway, U.S.D.J., on February 17, 2023 (Dkt. No. 24), which established the current discovery schedule. This production is further made in accordance with Rules 26 and 34 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and all applicable local rules of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

As set forth below, this letter describes the scope and format of the production, identifies the custodians and document sources included in this production, addresses the concurrent service of Stonefield's privilege log, and sets forth certain reservations of rights and general objections that apply to this production. We have endeavored to make this initial production as comprehensive and responsive as possible, consistent with Stonefield's obligations under the Federal Rules and the Case Management Order, while preserving all applicable objections and privileges.

II. Description of Production

In connection with this first production, Stonefield is producing a total of 42,387 documents, comprising approximately 186,000 pages of responsive material. The documents included in this production are Bates-stamped SLG-000001 through SLG-042387, with each document bearing a unique Bates number in consecutive order throughout the production.

This production is made on behalf of defendant Stonefield Logistics Group Inc., a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business at 4200 Commerce Parkway, Suite 800, Fort Worth, Texas 76102. The documents produced herein include materials sourced from Stonefield's corporate files, electronic mail systems, shared network drives, document management systems, and the individual custodial files of key personnel, as described in further detail in Section IV below. These documents are responsive to one or more of the categories set forth in Plaintiff's First Request for Production of Documents and encompass the time period and subject matter relevant to the claims and defenses in this action, including, without limitation, the negotiation, execution, performance, and termination of the Transportation Services Agreement between Vantor and Stonefield.

III. Manner and Form of Production

The documents comprising this production are being produced electronically via the hosted review platform operated by Pinnacle Forensics LLC, an electronic discovery and litigation support vendor retained by Stonefield in connection with this matter. The production has been designated as Project ID: PF-SLG-2022-0914 within the Pinnacle Forensics platform.

Access credentials for the Pinnacle Forensics hosted review platform have been provided separately to Caldwell Royce & Shapiro LLP via secure, encrypted email transmitted to you and to your colleague Alina Petrov earlier today. The access credentials will permit your firm to download, view, search, and organize the produced documents through the platform's interface. Should you require additional user accounts or encounter any difficulty accessing the platform, please do not hesitate to contact Nathan Billings, Client Engagement Director at Pinnacle Forensics LLC, whose contact information is as follows:

Nathan Billings Client Engagement Director Pinnacle Forensics LLC 12000 Findley Road, Suite 200 Johns Creek, Georgia 30097 Telephone: (770) 412-6800

Email: nbillings@pinnacleforensics.com

Mr. Billings and his team are available to assist with any technical access issues, including questions regarding platform navigation, download functionality, and load file specifications.

The documents in this production are produced in the format in which they are kept in the ordinary course of Stonefield's business, or have been organized and labeled to correspond to the categories in Plaintiff's Requests, consistent with Rule 34(b)(2)(E) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Specifically, the following production specifications apply:

• Native Files: Documents that were maintained in native electronic format (e.g., Ashbury Holdings Excel spreadsheets, Ashbury Holdings Northgate Services Inc. presentations, and similar file types for which conversion to image format would compromise the integrity or usability of the document) are produced in their native format, with associated metadata preserved.

• Email and Attachments: Electronic mail messages and their associated attachments are produced as document families, with the parent email and all attachments grouped together and identified by family-level Bates ranges, allowing for easy identification and review of complete email threads and their enclosures.

• Image-Based Productions: Documents that have been converted to image format are produced in single-page TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) format, at a resolution of 300 DPI, with associated concordance- and Relativity-compatible load files (including .DAT, .OPT, and .LFP files as applicable), OCR (Optical Character Recognition) text files for each document, and extracted metadata fields.

A complete list of the metadata fields included in the production load files, as well as specifications for the file naming conventions and directory structure utilized in this production, are included in the "Production Read Me" file accessible through the Pinnacle Forensics platform.

IV. Bates Range Index

An index of the Bates-stamped documents, organized by custodian and/or document source, is attached hereto as Exhibit A to this letter. The Bates Range Index provides a comprehensive breakdown of the documents included in this production, identifying the Bates range, custodian or source, and general document category for each subset of the production, thereby facilitating your review and organization of the produced materials.

The key custodians whose files have been collected, reviewed, and included in this first production are as follows:

1. Janet Kirkwood, Vice President, Carrier Relations, Stonefield Logistics Group Inc.

2. Raymond Hess, Director, Contract Compliance, Stonefield Logistics Group Inc.

3. Carlos Medina, Senior Vice President, Operations, Stonefield Logistics Group Inc.

4. Tobias Wren, General Counsel, Stonefield Logistics Group Inc.

5. Priya Ramachandran, Chief Financial Officer, Stonefield Logistics Group Inc.

6. Marcus Denton, Chief Executive Officer, Stonefield Logistics Group Inc.

In addition to the individual custodial files identified above, this production includes documents sourced from Stonefield's shared drives and document management systems, including materials related to the Vantor/VTS business relationship, the Transportation Services Agreement (Contract Ref. No. SLG-VTS-2019-0315), and the events surrounding the termination thereof. These non-custodial sources include, without limitation, the contract management system entries for the TSA and related amendments, the shared project directories maintained by the Carrier Relations and Operations departments pertaining to the Vantor account, and financial records maintained in Stonefield's enterprise resource planning systems relating to the Vantor/VTS billing and payment history.

As reflected in Exhibit A, the Bates Range Index identifies the specific Bates range allocated to each custodian and non-custodial source, along with a general description of the categories of documents included in each range (e.g., correspondence, contracts, internal memoranda, financial records, and operational reports). We believe this index will assist your team in efficiently navigating and prioritizing your review of the produced materials.

V. Privilege Log

Concurrently with this document production, Stonefield is serving its Privilege Log, which identifies a total of 1,247 documents that have been withheld from production on the basis of the attorney-client privilege and/or the work product doctrine. The Privilege Log is attached hereto as Exhibit B to this letter.

Each entry on the Privilege Log includes the following information, consistent with the requirements of Rule 26(b)(5)(A) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the specifications set forth in the Case Management Order: (i) the date of the document or communication; (ii) the author(s) or sender(s); (iii) the recipient(s) and, where applicable, individuals copied; (iv) a description of the subject matter of the document or communication sufficient to enable Plaintiff to assess the privilege claim without revealing the privileged content; and (v) the specific privilege basis or bases asserted for the withholding of the document (i.e., attorney-client privilege, work product — fact, or work product — opinion).

The withheld documents include, among other categories:

• Pre-litigation legal advice communications between Stonefield personnel and Ashford Meridian LLP, Stonefield's transactional counsel. Ashford Meridian LLP drafted the Transportation Services Agreement (Contract Ref. No. SLG-VTS-2019-0315) and provided pre-litigation legal guidance to Stonefield regarding the interpretation of key provisions of the TSA, including the termination-for-cause provisions, the notice and cure requirements, and the indemnification and limitation of liability clauses at issue in this action.

• Communications between Stonefield personnel and Calderwood & Harkness LLP from September 1, 2022, to the present, reflecting legal advice and litigation strategy discussions relating to the disputes underlying this action and the prosecution of Stonefield's defense.

• Internal Stonefield memoranda, analyses, and presentations prepared at the direction of counsel or in anticipation of litigation, including materials prepared in connection with Stonefield's pre-suit evaluation of the claims and defenses at issue in this matter.

Stonefield reserves the right to supplement the Privilege Log as additional documents are identified in the course of ongoing document review and collection. In the event that supplemental privilege log entries are required, they will be provided on a rolling basis in accordance with the deadlines established by the Case Management Order.

VI. Reservation of Rights and General Objections

This production is made subject to, and without waiver of, any and all general or specific objections set forth in Stonefield's Responses and Objections to Plaintiff's First Request for Production of Documents, which are being served concurrently herewith on April 14, 2023. Stonefield's Responses and Objections should be read in conjunction with this letter and the accompanying document production, and the production of any documents responsive to a particular Request should not be construed as a waiver of any objection interposed with respect to that Request.

As set forth in detail in the Responses and Objections, Stonefield specifically objects to seven (7) of Plaintiff's Requests for Production on the grounds that such Requests are overbroad and unduly burdensome, seek information that is neither relevant to any party's claim or defense nor proportional to the needs of the case within the meaning of Rule 26(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and/or seek materials protected by the attorney-client privilege or the work product doctrine. Notwithstanding these objections, Stonefield has conducted a reasonable and diligent search for responsive documents and has produced documents responsive to each Request to the extent not subject to a valid objection or privilege assertion.

In addition, and without limitation, Stonefield states as follows:

• The production of any document in this or any subsequent production is not, and shall not be construed as, an admission by Stonefield of the relevance, authenticity, or admissibility of such document for any purpose in this litigation or in any other proceeding. All rights to object to the relevance, authenticity, admissibility, or use of any produced document are expressly reserved.

• Stonefield's investigation and document collection efforts are ongoing. Stonefield reserves the right to supplement, amend, or correct this production as required by Rule 26(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Case Management Order. Stonefield's obligation to supplement extends to the identification of additional responsive documents that may be located through continued collection efforts, as well as the correction of any inadvertent errors or omissions in this initial production.

• This production is made subject to the Stipulation and Order Regarding Inadvertent Production of Privileged Materials (the "Clawback Order"), which was entered by the Court pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) on February 17, 2023, as part of the Case Management Order (Dkt. No. 24). Consistent with the terms of the Clawback Order, any inadvertent disclosure of documents or communications protected by the attorney-client privilege, the work product doctrine, or any other applicable privilege or protection shall not constitute a waiver, in whole or in part, of any such privilege or protection, whether as to the specific documents inadvertently produced or as to any other documents or communications addressing the same or similar subject matter. In the event that Stonefield identifies any inadvertently produced privileged materials, Stonefield will promptly notify Plaintiff's counsel and invoke the procedures set forth in the Clawback Order.

VII. Confidentiality

Certain documents included in this production contain proprietary, commercially sensitive, or confidential business information of Stonefield Logistics Group Inc. and/or its affiliates, including Ridgeline Capital Partners, LP, Stonefield's majority equity holder. Such materials may include, without limitation, internal financial data, pricing structures, customer lists, vendor agreements, strategic planning documents, and operational metrics that constitute trade secrets or otherwise warrant confidential treatment.

Stonefield reserves all rights with respect to the designation of documents as "Confidential" or "Highly Confidential — Attorneys' Eyes Only" under the terms of any applicable protective order or confidentiality agreement that may be entered in this action. To the extent a stipulated protective order has not yet been entered by the Court, Stonefield requests that all documents produced herein be treated as confidential and not be disclosed to any third parties pending the entry of such an order. Stonefield intends to propose a form of protective order to Plaintiff's counsel in the near term and welcomes the opportunity to confer regarding the terms thereof.

VIII. List of Exhibits Accompanying This Letter

The following exhibits are attached to and accompany this letter:

Exhibit A: Bates Range Index for Stonefield Logistics Group Inc.'s First Production of Documents (SLG-000001 through SLG-042387), organized by custodian and/or document source, with corresponding Bates ranges and general document category descriptions.

Exhibit B: Privilege Log for Stonefield Logistics Group Inc.'s First Production of Documents (1,247 entries), identifying all documents withheld from production on the basis of attorney-client privilege and/or the work product doctrine.

IX. Contact Information

Please direct any questions regarding the substance or scope of this production, the accompanying Responses and Objections, or the Privilege Log to the undersigned at the address below or by email at pgallagher@calderwoodharkness.com, or to David Moretti, Litigation Support and eDiscovery Manager, at Calderwood & Harkness LLP, 200 Park Avenue, 38th Floor, New York, New York 10166 (email: dmoretti@calderwoodharkness.com; telephone: (212) 554-8247).

For technical access issues related to the Pinnacle Forensics hosted review platform, including questions regarding login credentials, file downloads, or load file specifications, please contact Nathan Billings at Pinnacle Forensics LLC directly at the contact information provided in Section III above.

We appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to your prompt confirmation of receipt of this production and the accompanying exhibits.

Sincerely,

CALDERWOOD & HARKNESS LLP

By: ________

Patrick Gallagher, Partner 200 Park Avenue, 38th Floor New York, New York 10166 Telephone: (212) 554-8000

Email: pgallagher@calderwoodharkness.com

Enclosures:

Exhibit A — Bates Range Index Exhibit B — Privilege Log

cc (via email):

Harrison Caldwell, Esq., Caldwell Royce & Shapiro LLP Meredith Shapiro, Esq., Caldwell Royce & Shapiro LLP Alina Petrov, Esq., Caldwell Royce & Shapiro LLP Samuel Eklund, Esq., Calderwood & Harkness LLP Simone Laroche, Esq., Calderwood & Harkness LLP Helen Tsao, Esq., Calderwood & Harkness LLP Tobias Wren, Esq., General Counsel, Stonefield Logistics Group Inc.