Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_17-cv-05499/USCOURTS-cand-3_17-cv-05499-7/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 820
Nature of Suit: Copyright
Cause of Action: 17:501 Copyright Infringement

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United States District Court

Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

PETER MENZEL,

Plaintiff,

v.

SCHOLASTIC, INC.,

Defendant.

Case No. 3:17-cv-05499-EMC (KAW)

ORDER REGARDING 9/6/19 JOINT 

DISCOVERY LETTER

Re: Dkt. No. 100

On September 6, 2019, the parties filed a joint letter, in which Plaintiff Peter Menzel 

claims that Defendant Scholastic, Inc. has been withholding relevant and discoverable information 

responsive to his document requests. (Joint Letter, Dkt. No. 100.)

Plaintiff created a table listing the outstanding documents pertaining to the 17 licenses at 

issue, which he claims is incomplete. (Joint Letter at 2, Ex. A.) In response, Scholastic claims that 

it received the first version of the table on June 4, 2019, and has responded to it and two 

subsequent versions to correct multiple errors, and to confirm that it was not withholding 

documents. (Joint Letter at 3.) Plaintiff is not convinced, and requests that the Court compel 

Scholastic to produce its licenses, copies of relevant publication pages, and complete usage 

information for the photographs and publications identified in the second amended complaint. 

(Joint Letter at 1.)

Scholastic claims that it is not withholding or refusing to produce documents, but, rather, 

has extracted every piece of information regarding Plaintiff from its databases to identify relevant 

uses. (Joint Letter at 2.) Scholastic points out that some of these publications are over 20 years 

old, and that it no longer has copies of all documents. Id. at 3. Others documents, due to their age, 

are the only copies in Scholastic’s library, which Scholastic has offered to make available for 

Case 3:17-cv-05499-EMC Document 103 Filed 09/23/19 Page 1 of 2
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United States District Court

Northern District of California

inspection. Id. To the extent that Scholastic has been unable to locate all documents after a diligent 

search, it need not produce those documents that it cannot find, so Plaintiff’s request to compel 

such documents is denied. Scholastic, however, is reminded of its ongoing obligation to 

supplement its responses and produce responsive documents under Rule 26. 

Finally, the Court denies Plaintiff’s request to permit full briefing on this matter. The 

parties are reminded that, since discovery in this case has been referred to the undersigned, any 

future joint letters must comply with the format outlined in Judge Westmore’s standing order.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: September 23, 2019

__________________________________

KANDIS A. WESTMORE

United States Magistrate Judge

Case 3:17-cv-05499-EMC Document 103 Filed 09/23/19 Page 2 of 2