Focuspoint International, Inc. v. Baldeo

District Court, N.D. Ohio·Decided September 14, 2022·No. 1:20-cv-02019·Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO EASTERN DIVISION

FOCUSPOINT INTERNATIONAL, INC., ) Case No. 1:20-cv-2019 ) Plaintiff, ) JUDGE CHRISTOPHER A. BOYKO ) v. ) MAGISTRATE JUDGE ) THOMAS M. PARKER SARAH BALDEO, et al., ) ) Defendants. ) ORDER )

This matter is before the court on plaintiff Focuspoint International, Inc.’s (“Focuspoint”) motion to: (i) compel pro se defendant Sarah Baldeo to supplement her discovery responses; and (ii) deem requests for admission propounded upon Baldeo admitted. ECF Doc. 68. Focuspoint also seeks an extension of the discovery and dispositive motion deadlines. ECF Doc. 74. For the reasons discussed below, Focuspoint’s motion to compel and deem requests for admission admitted (ECF Doc. 68) is DENIED in part and GRANTED in part. Focuspoint’s motion for an extension (ECF Doc. 74) is GRANTED. I. Factual Background1 Focuspoint is an Ohio-based company that provides pandemic business continuity services, including personal protective equipment (“PPE”) procurement services. ECF Doc. 17

1 A brief recitation of the facts alleged in Focuspoint’s amended complaint (ECF Doc. 17) is provided for context. at 2. As relevant to the allegations against her, Baldeo was the director of sales for ISB Canada, a Canadian company that did business in PPE procurement. ECF Doc. 17 at 2–3, 6. In May 2020, Focuspoint contracted with Akata Global LLC (“Akata”), as purchasing agent, to broker the acquisition of N95 masks for the State of Maryland. ECF Doc. 17 at 2–3, 5–

6. According to the pleadings, two people managed the PPE acquisition on Focuspoint’s behalf: (i) Robert Hawley, Focuspoint’s then-president of medical services; and (ii) Baldeo, who was brought on at Focuspoint’s request because she had a business relationship with Craig Baptiste (one of Akata’s principals). ECF Doc. 17 at 2–3, 6–7; ECF Doc. 42-1. But instead of working solely for the benefit of Focuspoint, Baldeo executed a consulting agreement between Akata and her consulting firm, IDQ Consultants, to obtain a secret multimillion dollar commission. ECF Doc. 17 at 9. Baldeo’s consulting fees, however, caused issues with Akata’s executives and Maryland and led to protracted fee negotiations. ECF Doc. 17 at 11–12. Because of the delays, the PPE acquisition failed. ECF Doc. 17 at 13–14. Focuspoint now asserts against Baldeo claims of breach of fiduciary duty and tortious

interference with economic advantage. ECF Doc. 17 at 14–16. II. Procedural Background On September 30, 2021, Focuspoint served Baldeo with: (i) interrogatories; (ii) requests for production; and (iii) requests for admission. ECF Doc. 51-2; ECF Doc. 65-1 at 2. In light of an intervening motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, Baldeo was given until May 26, 2022 to respond to the discovery requests. ECF Doc. 64. On May 26, 2022, Baldeo furnished Focuspoint with her discovery responses. ECF Doc. 65-1 at 3. On June 3, 2022, Focuspoint sent Baldeo a discovery deficiency letter, disputing: (i) all of Baldeo’s responses to requests for admission; (ii) her responses to Interrogatories No. 3–7, 9, 12–14, and 17; and (iii) her responses to all but Request for Production No. 14. ECF Doc. 66-5. Focuspoint requested that Baldeo either cure the deficiencies by June 10 (for written responses) and June 17 (for document production) or indicate by June 6 whether she intended to comply. ECF Doc. 66-5 at 6. Baldeo did not respond. ECF Doc. 65-1 at 4. And on June 30, 2022,

Focuspoint filed a notice of discovery dispute requesting court intervention. ECF Doc. 65. The court held a telephone status conference on the discovery dispute, at which Baldeo failed to appear. Docket Entry dated 7/19/2022. The court ordered that Focuspoint file a motion to compel and call Baldeo by telephone to discuss the discovery issues as one last good faith effort to resolve the matter without court intervention. Id. On July 19, 2022, Focuspoint filed a motion to: (i) deem Requests for Admission No. 1– 7, 10, and 11 admitted; and (ii) compel Baldeo to amend her responses Requests for Admission No. 8–9, 12, and 13, Interrogatories No. 3–7, 9, 12–14, and 17, and Requests for Production No. 1–13, 15, and 16. ECF Doc. 68. On July 29, 2022, the parties conducted the required telephone conference. ECF Doc. 70

at 1. According to Focuspoint’s summary of the conference, Baldeo agreed to amend her responses to Focuspoint’s requests for admission. ECF Doc. 70 at 3. Baldeo also stated that her “attorney in Canada” possessed potentially responsive documents but she would not contact the attorney or have the attorney produce documents in the attorney’s possession because the court lacked jurisdiction over her. ECF Doc. 70 at 3–4. On August 8, 2022, the court established a final briefing schedule, pursuant to which Baldeo was required to furnish supplemental discovery responses on or by August 15 and respond to the motion to compel on or by August 22, 2022. ECF Doc. 71 at 3. Baldeo did not follow through with her promise to supplement her discovery responses. ECF Doc. 72 at 2. And in lieu of responding to the motion to compel, she filed a motion to dismiss. ECF Doc. 73. III. Motion to Deem Requests for Admission Admitted Focuspoint’s requests for admission, and Baldeo’s answers, that are the subject of

Focuspoint’s motion to deem requests for admission admitted are: RFA No. 1: Admit that in May 2020 you were aware that Akata signed a purchasing agent agreement (the “Purchasing Agent Agreement”) with The Recon GRP regarding the purchase of personal protective equipment.

RESPONSE: I am aware of the above statement.

RFA No. 2: Admit that in May 2020, you were aware that Akata was an authorized procurement agent for the State of Maryland regarding the procurement of PPE

RESPONSE: I am aware of the above statement.

RFA No. 3: Admit that in May 2020, you were aware that the purpose of the Purchasing Agent Agreement was to facilitate that Maryland PPE Deal.

RESPONSE: Craig Baptiste intended to leverage the PPE procured for non emergency use and export product outside the USA for profit

RFA No. 4: Admit that in May 2020, you were aware that FocusPoint and Akata signed a Non-Circumvention, Non-Disclosure Working Agreement for the purpose of facilitating the Maryland PPE Deal.

RESPONSE: Two NCNDAs were executed - one with Going Home Medical and one with ISB Canada.

RFA No. 5: Admit that in May 2020, you were aware that FocusPoint and Recon signed a Non-Circumvention, Non-Disclosure, & Non-Competition Agreement for the purpose of facilitating the Maryland PPE Deal.

RESPONSE: This is a repeat of RFA No. 4.

RFA No. 6: Admit that in May 2020, you were aware that FocusPoint and Recon signed a Referral Fee Agreement (the “Referral Fee Agreement”) regarding the Maryland PPE Deal. RESPONSE: All signed documents were with Going Home Medical to my knowledge, as Ryan Hawley was the representative for Going Home Medical (DBA Focus Point).

RFA No. 7: Admit that in May 2020 it was you understanding that, under the Referral Fee Agreement and Purchasing Agent Agreement, FocusPoint was to receive a fee for the Maryland PPE Deal based on the volume of PPE purchased by Maryland.

RESPONSE: The fee split discussed on sales calls within the Dalton Group was that ISB would receive 40% of the fees and Focus Point 60% - this was correlated to my involvement as an employee of ISB and Ryan Hawley’s involvement as an employee of Going Home Medical.

* * *

RFA No. 10: Admit that in May 2020, it was your understanding that ISB Global Services could not participate in the Maryland PPE Deal because it is a Canadian company.

RESPONSE: ISB Global participated openly in the Maryland PPE Deal. Including, but not limited to, signing NCNDAs, providing compliance advisory via Sarah Baldeo.

RFA No.

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Focuspoint International, Inc. v. Baldeo, (N.D. Ohio 2022).

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