THE VERSATA DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO COMPEL 

DISCOVERY AND BRIEF IN SUPPORT

EXHIBIT B

First Requests Interrogatories to Defendant, Nov. 23, 2015

Case 2:15-cv-10628-MFL-EAS ECF No. 169-3, PageID.8971 Filed 10/19/16 Page 1 of 11
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN 

FORD MOTOR COMPANY, § 

§ 

 Plaintiff, § CASE NO. 15-10628-MFL-EAS 

 § 

v. § 

 § 

VERSATA SOFTWARE, INC., f/k/a TRILOGY § JURY TRIAL DEMANDED 

SOFTWARE, INC., TRILOGY DEVELOPMENT § 

GROUP, INC., AND TRILOGY, INC., § 

 § 

 Defendant. § 

 

PLAINTIFFS VERSATA DEVELOPMENT GROUP, INC., F/K/A TRILOGY 

DEVELOPMENT GROUP, INC., VERSATA SOFTWARE, INC., F/K/A TRILOGY 

DEVELOPMENT GROUP, INC., AND TRILOGY, INC.’S FIRST INTERROGATORIES 

TO DEFENDANT FORD MOTOR COMPANY 

 

To: Defendants Ford Motor Company, through their attorneys of record, Brooks Kushman, 

PC, 1000 Town Center, 22nd Floor, Southfield, MI 48075 and Siebman Burg Phillips& 

Smith LLP, 300 N. Travis St., Sherman, TX 75090.

Pursuant to Rules 26 and 33 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Plaintiffs Versata 

Development Group, Inc., Versata Software, Inc., and Trilogy, Inc. (collectively “Versata”) hereby 

request that Defendant Ford Motor Company respond to the following Interrogatories in writing, 

under oath, and according to the definitions and instructions below, within thirty (30) days 

following services of these Interrogatories, as prescribed by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. 

 

B

Case 2:15-cv-10628-MFL-EAS ECF No. 169-3, PageID.8972 Filed 10/19/16 Page 2 of 11
2 

DEFINITIONS 

The following definitions shall apply throughout these interrogatories: 

1. “Versata” shall refer to Plaintiffs Versata Development Group, Inc., Versata 

Software, Inc., and Trilogy, Inc., jointly and severally. 

2. “Defendant,” “Ford Motor Company,” “Ford,” “you,” “your,” “You,” or “Your” 

shall refer to Defendant Ford Motor Company and include any past and present parents, 

predecessors, successors, subsidiaries, affiliates, divisions, associated organizations, joint 

ventures, and all present and former officers, directors, trustees, employees, staff members, agents, 

or other representatives, including counsel and patent agents, in any country. 

3. “PDO” shall refer to Ford’s Product Definition and Offering and shall have the 

same meaning as attributed to it on page 16 of Ford Motor Company’s Motion to Dismiss for Lack 

of Personal Jurisdiction. (Docket #14). 

4. “GPD” shall refer to Ford’s Global Product Definition application and shall have 

the same meaning as attributed to it in Ford’s Opposition to Versata’s Motion for Preliminary 

Injunction. (Docket #15). 

5. “ACM” shall refer to “Automotive Configuration Management” software and 

“Automotive Configuration Manager.”

6. “Versata Software” shall refer to any software developed by Versata in part or in 

whole, and shall be construed to include any software developed by Versata which Ford claims to 

own or to which Ford claims to have an irrevocable license. “Versata Software” includes without 

limitation ACM and all features, applications, and code thereof. 

7. “Versata documents” and “Versata documentation” refers to all documents in any 

format, including electronic, related to or describing Versata Software or its use in an, including 

without limitation to any user guides, manuals, developer guides, requirements lists, feature lists, 

and related documentation.

Case 2:15-cv-10628-MFL-EAS ECF No. 169-3, PageID.8973 Filed 10/19/16 Page 3 of 11
3 

8. “EPIC Governance Board” refers to the Enterprise Process and IT Commonality 

Board identified by Michael Sullivan during his deposition as Ford’s corporate representative on 

August 26-27, 2015. 

9. “Super Configurator” refers to Ford’s “super configurator” as described in 

paragraphs 36-39 of Ford’s Complaint for Declaratory Relief filed March 15, 2015 in Cause No. 

15-10628-MFL-EAS.

10. The terms “relate to,” “relates to,” “related to,” “relating to,” “referred to,” 

“referring to,” “concerning” and “regarding” mean comprise, concern, consist of, constitute, 

contain, contradict, describe, discuss, display, disprove, evidence, explain, include, identify, 

mention, pertain to, prove, provide context to, refer, reflect, show, state, support, or be in any way 

legally, logically or factually connected with the matter referenced, or having a tendency to prove 

or disprove any matter referenced. 

11. The words “or” and “and” shall be read in the conjunctive and in the disjunctive 

when they appear, and neither of these words shall be interpreted to limit the scope of these 

requests for production 

12. The term “any” or “each” should be understood to include and encompass “all.”

13. The term “including” shall mean including without limitation.

14. The use of a verb in any tense shall be construed as the use of the verb in all other 

tenses. 

15. The singular form of any word shall be deemed to include the plural. The plural 

form of any word shall be deemed to include the singular. 

INSTRUCTIONS 

 1. In answering the following Interrogatories, furnish all available information, 

including information in your possession, custody, or control of any of your attorneys, directors, 

officers, agents, employees, representatives, associates, investigators, affiliates, partnerships, 

agents, parents or subsidiaries, and any other persons under your control who have responsive 

information. 

Case 2:15-cv-10628-MFL-EAS ECF No. 169-3, PageID.8974 Filed 10/19/16 Page 4 of 11
4 

 2. If you cannot fully respond to the following Interrogatories after exercising due 

diligence to secure the information requested thereby, so state, answer such interrogatory to the 

extent possible, and specify the portion of such interrogatory that you are unable to answer fully, 

completely, and in detail. Additionally, state the reason why such portion cannot be so answered, 

and if your response is qualified in any particular respect, set forth the details of such qualification; 

state what efforts were made to obtain the requested information and the facts relied upon that 

support the contention that the Interrogatory cannot be answered fully and completely; state what 

knowledge, information or belief you have concerning the unanswered portions of any such 

Interrogatory; and state whether the inability to comply is because the particular item or category 

of information never existed, has been destroyed, has been lost, misplaced, or stolen, or has never 

been, or is no longer, in your possession, custody, or control, in which case the name and address 

of any person or entity known or believed by you to have possession, custody, or control of that 

information or category of information must be identified. 

 3. When the term “identify” is used in these interrogatories, supply the following 

information as the context requires: 

 a. when “identify” is used with respect to a natural person, state his or her full name, 

present or last known address and telephone number, and present or last known position or business 

affiliation; 

 b. when “identify” is used with respect to any other entity, state its full name, the 

address of its principal place of business, its state of incorporation or organization, and the names 

of its principals; 

 c. when “identify” is used with respect to a document, state the name or title of the 

document, the type of document (e.g., letter, memorandum, telegram, chart, etc.), its date, the 

persons to whom it was addressed or sent, and the persons who authored or sent the document; 

and 

 d. when “identify” is used with respect to any non-written communications, state the 

identity of the natural persons making and receiving the communication, their respective principals 

Case 2:15-cv-10628-MFL-EAS ECF No. 169-3, PageID.8975 Filed 10/19/16 Page 5 of 11
5 

or employers at the time of the communication, the date, manner, and place of the communication, 

and the content of the communication. 

4. These interrogatories shall be deemed continuing, requiring you to supplement your 

responses in accordance with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(e). If you object to providing 

certain information requested, state your objection and answer any unobjectionable portion(s) of 

the request for information and/or supply the unobjectionable information requested. 

5. If any information requested in these Interrogatories is claimed to be privileged, 

immune from discovery or otherwise not discoverable, please provide all information falling 

within the scope of the Interrogatory which is discoverable, and for each item of information to 

which a claim of privilege or non-disclosure is made, identify such information with sufficient 

particularity so that the merits of the claim of privilege or non-disclosure may be assessed, 

including identification to include at least the following: 

 (a) the basis on which the privilege is claimed; 

 (b) the names and positions of the author of the document and all other persons 

participating in the preparation of the document; 

 (c) the name and position of each individual or other person to whom the 

document, or a copy thereof, was sent or otherwise disclosed; 

 (d) the date of the document; 

 (e) a description of any accompanying material transmitted with or attached to 

such document; 

 (f) the number of pages in such document; 

 (g) the particular document request to which such document is responsive; and 

 (h) whether any business or non-legal matter is contained or discussed in such 

document. 

 6. If any information is withheld under a claim of privilege, state the nature of the 

privilege claimed and provide sufficient information to permit a full determination of whether the 

claim is valid. For allegedly privileged documents, include: an identification of the sender and the 

Case 2:15-cv-10628-MFL-EAS ECF No. 169-3, PageID.8976 Filed 10/19/16 Page 6 of 11
6 

recipients of the document; the date of the document; a description of the contents, nature, or 

subject matter of the document; the number of the discovery request or interrogatory to which the 

document is responsive; and an explanation of the basis for the asserted claim of privilege. 

 7. If you are producing documents in connection with these Interrogatories, electronic 

records and computerized information must be produced in an intelligible format, together with a 

description of the system from which they were derived sufficient to permit rendering the records 

and information intelligible. Further, electronic records and computerized information must be 

produced pursuant to any agreement or agreements between the parties as reflected in the 

correspondence between the parties. 

 8. If you are producing documents in connection with these Interrogatories, file 

folders with tabs or labels or directories of files identifying documents must be produced intact 

with such documents. 

 9. If you are producing documents in connection with these Interrogatories, 

documents attached to each other shall not be separated. 

 10. Pursuant to Rule 26(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, you are under a 

duty to seasonably amend any prior response to an interrogatory if you learn that the response is 

in some material respect incomplete or incorrect, or if you are so ordered by the Court. 

INTERROGATORIES 

INTERROGATORY NO. 1: 

 Please identify each and every person who had access to or used ACM, any other Versata 

Software, or any documentation for ACM or other Versata Software. Identify (a) whether the 

person is Ford employee, former employee, or current or former independent contractor; (b) the 

specific Versata Software and/or Versata documentation to which the person had access; and (c) 

the time period during which he or she had such access. 

Case 2:15-cv-10628-MFL-EAS ECF No. 169-3, PageID.8977 Filed 10/19/16 Page 7 of 11
7 

INTERROGATORY NO. 2: 

Please identify each and every person who worked on or contributed to the conception, 

design, development, reduction to practice, implementation, or testing of Ford’s PDO software. 

Identify (a) whether the person is Ford employee, former employee, or current or former 

independent contractor; (b) the specific work that the person performed with respect to PDO; (c) 

the time period of his or her work; (d) whether the person had access to any Versata Software or 

Versata documents; and (e) the specific Versata Software and/or Versata documents to which the 

person had access. 

INTERROGATORY NO. 3: 

Please identify each and every person and “engineer[] from Ford’s Research and Advanced 

Engineering department” who worked on or contributed to the conception, design, development, 

reduction to practice, implementation, or testing of Ford’s Super Configurator. Identify (a) 

whether the person is Ford employee, former employee, or current or former independent 

contractor; (b) the specific work that the person performed with respect to the “super configurator”; 

(c) the time period of his or her work; (d) whether the person had access to any Versata Software 

or Versata documents; and (e) the specific Versata Software and/or Versata documents to which 

the person had access. 

INTERROGATORY NO. 4: 

 Please identify all Ford software and applications which use or rely upon in any way, 

directly or indirectly, ACM or other Versata Software, including without limitation by directly 

interacting with the Versata Software or relying upon any data output from Versata Software. For 

all software and applications identified, please state (a) the name of the software or application, 

(b) how the software or application uses or relies upon Versata software, (c) the time period during 

Case 2:15-cv-10628-MFL-EAS ECF No. 169-3, PageID.8978 Filed 10/19/16 Page 8 of 11
8 

which the software or application has been used by Ford, and (d) the specific Versata Software 

used or relied upon by the software or application. 

INTERROGATORY NO.5: 

Please identify all members of the EPIC Governance Board from January 1, 2008 until the 

time it disbanded. For each identified member, identify please state their role and tenure on the 

EPIC Governance Board. 

INTERROGATORY NO.6: 

Please identify the responsibilities of the EPIC Governance Board with respect to the use, 

implementation, termination, removal, and staffing of projects related to Versata Software, PDO, 

and Ford’s Super Configurator. In identifying the responsibilities of the EPIC Governance Board, 

please state whether the Epic Governance Board kept minutes related to those responsibilities, 

identify the documents the EPIC Governance Board considered related to those responsibilities, 

and, if within the responsibilities of the EPIC Governance Board, specifically identify when the 

decisions were made to develop PDO, Ford’s Super Configurator, and to phase out or otherwise 

end Ford’s use of ACM. 

 

Case 2:15-cv-10628-MFL-EAS ECF No. 169-3, PageID.8979 Filed 10/19/16 Page 9 of 11
9 

Respectfully submitted, 

AHMAD, ZAVITSANOS, ANAIPAKOS, ALAVI &

 MENSING P.C. 

 

/s/ Steven J. Mitby 

Steven J. Mitby 

Texas State Bar No. 24037123 

smitby@azalaw.com 

Foster C. Johnson 

Texas State Bar No. 24076463 

fjohnson@azalaw.com 

Reed N. Smith 

Texas State Bar No. 24067875 

AHMAD, ZAVITSANOS, ANAIPAKOS, ALAVI & MENSING, P.C. 

1221 McKinney, Suite 3460 

Houston, Texas 77010 

(713) 655-1101 (Phone) 

(713) 655-0062 (Fax) 

Rodger D. Young 

Jason D. Killips 

Young & Associates 

27725 Stansbury Blvd., Suite 125 

Farmington Hills, Michigan 48334 

(248) 353-8620 

efiling@youngpc.com 

 

ATTORNEYS FOR DEFENDANTS VERSATA 

DEVELOPMENT GROUP, INC., F/K/A 

TRILOGY DEVELOPMENT, GROUP, INC., 

VERSATA SOFTWARE, INC., F/K/A TRILOGY 

SOFTWARE, INC., TRILOGY DEVELOPMENT 

GROUP, INC. AND TRILOGY, INC. 

 

Case 2:15-cv-10628-MFL-EAS ECF No. 169-3, PageID.8980 Filed 10/19/16 Page 10 of 11
10 

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

I hereby certify that, on the 23th day of November 2015, a true and correct copy of the 

foregoing was served both by U.S. Mail and electronically by email to all counsel of record in 

accordance with Federal Rules of Civil Procedure as follows: 

Frank A. Angileri 

Chanille Carswell 

Amy Leshan 

John LeRoy 

John Rondini 

Brooks & Kushman PC – Southfield 

100 Town Center 

22nd Floor 

Southfield, Michigan 48075 

James P. Feeney 

Dykema Gossett PLLC 

39577 Woodward Ave., Suite 300 

Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304 

 

 /s/ Steven J. Mitby 

 Steven J. Mitby 

4826-0148-6379, v. 1 

Case 2:15-cv-10628-MFL-EAS ECF No. 169-3, PageID.8981 Filed 10/19/16 Page 11 of 11