Thogus Products Company v. Bleep, LLC

District Court, N.D. Ohio·Decided March 4, 2021·No. 1:20-cv-01887·Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO

Thogus Products Company, Case No. 1:20cv1887

Plaintiff, -vs- JUDGE PAMELA A. BARKER

Bleep, LLC, MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Defendant

Currently pending is Defendant Bleep, LLC’s Motion to Quash or, in the Alternative, for Protective Order. (Doc. No. 32.) Plaintiff Thogus Products Company filed a Brief in Opposition on February 26, 2021, to which Defendant replied on March 2, 2021. (Doc. Nos. 36, 37.) For the following reasons, Defendant’s Motion is GRANTED as set forth herein. I. Background On July 20, 2020, Plaintiff Thogus Products Company (“Thogus”) filed a Complaint against Defendant Bleep, LLC (“Bleep”) in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas asserting claims for (1) breach of contract, and (2) enforcement of Molder’s and Moldbuilder’s Lien Rights pursuant to Ohio Rev. Code §§ 1333.29 through 1333.34. (Doc. No. 1-1.) Bleep removed the action to this Court on August 25, 2020 on the basis of diversity jurisdiction. (Doc. No. 1.) The parties subsequently filed a Motion for a stay pending non-binding mediation, which the Court granted on September 9, 2020. (Doc. No. 6.) After mediation proceedings were unsuccessful, the stay was lifted and Thogus was granted leave to file its First Amended Complaint. (Doc. Nos. 8-2, 11.) On December 29, 2020, Bleep filed an Answer and Verified Counterclaims. (Doc. No. 12.) Among other things, Bleep asserts a counterclaim for breach of contract based on Thogus’s alleged failure to immediately release Bleep’s bailed property. (Id. at ¶¶ 150-166.) On December 30, 2020, Bleep filed a Motion for Preliminary and Permanent Injunction, in which it seeks an order requiring Thogus to return Bleep’s bailed property. (Doc. No. 15.) Thogus filed a Brief in Opposition on January 12, 2021, to which Bleep replied. (Doc. Nos. 18, 19.) On January 19, 2021, Thogus filed a Motion for Expedited Discovery, in which it sought an

order requiring Bleep to respond to Thogus’s First Set of Requests for Production of Documents within seven (7) days after service. (Doc. No. 20.) The discovery requests at issue consisted of nineteen (19) Requests for Production. (Doc. No. 24-1.) These Requests sought an array of documents relating to the parties’ underlying breach of contract claims, including (1) “all design specifications” for Bleep’s DreamWay and DreamPort products; (2) “all documents that refer and/or relate to” testing of those products; (3) “all customer complaints” for those products from March 2018 to the present; (4) “all Communications” relating to problems, concerns or complaints regarding the Smooth-Bor Hose; (5) “all Documents” relating to inspections performed by Bleep with respect to “any goods manufactured by Thogus;” (6) “all Documents” relating to Bleep’s temporary operating procedures, remediation procedures, and risk assessment as referred to in Paragraph 114 of Bleep’s

Counterclaim; (7) “all Documents” that identify Bleep’s sales figures for the DreamWay and DreamPort product from March 11, 2019 through the present; and (8) “all Documents” that identify the portion of sales of those products that involved goods manufactured by Thogus. (Id.) Bleep opposed the Motion on numerous grounds. (Doc. No. 24.)

2 On January 28, 2021, this Court denied Thogus’s Motion on the grounds that its discovery requests were overly broad and not narrowly tailored to either of the specific issues raised in Bleep’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction, i.e., (1) Bleep’s “good faith” basis for disputing Thogus’s demand for payment; and/or (2) Bleep’s alleged irreparable harm. (Doc. No. 30.) On that same date, the Court conducted a Case Management Conference (“CMC”), during which it set a Preliminary Injunction hearing for March 12, 2021. (Doc. Nos 28, 29.) The Court also set a discovery deadline

of December 31, 2021. (Id.) On February 18, 2021, Thogus served Subpoenas on fifteen (15) of Bleep’s customers. (Doc. Nos. 32-3 through 32-17.) The Subpoenas are identical and seek the production of the following twenty (20) categories of documents: 1. Copies of any and all distributorship agreements with Bleep for the sale of the DreamWay and/or DreamPort products.

2. Copies of all agreements and/or contracts with Bleep for the sale of DreamWay and/or DreamPort products.

3. Copies of all design specifications for the DreamWay, including any modifications to the original design specifications.

4. Copies of all Documents that refer and/or relate to product testing performed on the DreamWay.

5. Copies of all design specifications for the DreamPort, including any modifications to the original design specifications.

6. Copies of all Documents that refer and/or relate to product testing performed on the DreamPort.

7. Copies of any and all Communications regarding design changes to the DreamWay.

8. Copies of any and all Communications regarding design changes to the DreamPort.

3 9. Copies of any and all customer complaints regarding the DreamWay from March 1, 2018 through the present.

10. Copies of any and all customer complaints regarding the DreamPort from March 1, 2018 through the present.

11. Copies of all Documents that identify the quantity of DreamWay products sold in calendar years 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 (year to date), respectively.

12. Copies of all Documents that identify the annual sales revenue for the DreamWay in calendar years 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 (year to date), respectively.

13. Copies of all Documents that identify the quantity of DreamPort products sold in calendar years 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 (year to date), respectively.

14. Copies of all Documents that identify the annual sales revenue for the DreamPort in calendar years 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 (year to date), respectively.

15. Copies of all Documents that refer and/or relate to the most recent, modified version of the DreamWay (the "NextGen DreamWay").

16. Copies of all Documents that identify the quantity of the NextGen DreamWay products sold in calendar years 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 (year to date), respectively.

17. Copies of all records that identify the annual sales revenue for the NextGen DreamWay for calendar years 2019, 2020, and 2021 (year to date), respectively.

18. Copies of all Documents that refer and/or relate to the most recent, modified version of the DreamPort (the "NextGen DreamPort").

19. Copies of all Documents that identify the quantity of the NextGen DreamPort products sold in calendar years 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 (year to date), respectively.

20. Copies of all records that identify the annual sales revenue for the NextGen DreamPort for calendar years 2019, 2020, and 2021 (year to date), respectively.

4 See, e.g., Doc. No. 32-3 at PageID#s 546-547. The Subpoenas command the recipients to produce responsive documents to Thogus’s counsel in downtown Cleveland by March 8, 2021; i.e., four days prior to the Preliminary Injunction Hearing. (Doc. Nos. 32-3 through 32-17.) The Subpoena recipients are located across the United States in North Carolina, Texas, Washington, New Hampshire, Illinois, Arizona, Florida, and New Jersey. (Id.) One of the Subpoena recipients is located in Maineville, Ohio, which is approximately 225 miles from downtown Cleveland. (Doc.

No. 32-3.) On February 19, 2021, counsel for Bleep conferred with counsel for Thogus and requested that Thogus withdraw the Subpoenas. (Doc. No. 32-1 at pp. 4-5.) Thogus refused to do so. (Id.) On February 22, 2021, Bleep filed a Motion to Quash the Subpoenas or, in the alternative, for a Protective Order. (Doc. No.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Thogus Products Company v. Bleep, LLC, (N.D. Ohio 2021).

Thogus Products Company v. Bleep, LLC (Thogus Products Company v. Bleep, LLC) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Henry Lavado, Jr. v. Patrick W. Keohane
992 F.2d 601 (Sixth Circuit, 1993)
United States v. Operation Rescue
112 F. Supp. 2d 696 (S.D. Ohio, 1999)
Angelo Fears v. John Kasich
845 F.3d 231 (Sixth Circuit, 2016)
Pittman v. Experian Info. Solutions, Inc.
901 F.3d 619 (Sixth Circuit, 2018)
Nix v. Sword
11 F. App'x 498 (Sixth Circuit, 2001)
American Electric Power Co. v. United States
191 F.R.D. 132 (S.D. Ohio, 1999)
Hendricks v. Total Quality Logistics, LLC
275 F.R.D. 251 (S.D. Ohio, 2011)