Plaintiff’s President Ordered to Produce Discovery Regarding Prior Representation of Defendant

The court granted in part defendants' motion to compel plaintiff to produce documents regarding its members' prior representation of defendants. "[T]he Court is troubled by the notion of an attorney defending a client against patent infringement allegations and then turning around and forming an entity that sues his former client for infringing a patent involving technology that the attorney is familiar with from that defense. Further, it is undisputed that [plaintiff's president] represented [defendants] in several other cases, making [defendants'] concerns about the knowledge he obtained and his potential ethical issues less attenuated than its concerns regarding third parties. In light of this concern, at the hearing Plaintiff’s counsel, who also represents [plaintiff's president], agreed that Plaintiff and [its president] would provide discovery into [its president's] representation of [defendants]."

Bluestone Innovations, LLC v. LG Electronics, Inc. et al, 3-13-cv-01770 (CAND December 5, 2013, Order) (Laporte, M.J.)