Holley v. Gilead Scis., Inc.
Holley v. Gilead Scis., Inc.
2020 WL 2097602 (N.D. Cal. 2020)
May 1, 2020
Corley, Jacqueline Scott, United States Magistrate Judge
Summary
The court ordered Gilead to produce responsive documents for three additional Gilead scientists, to search Apollo for relevant documents through October 2019, and to produce Board of Directors documents through December 31, 2016, with the option to redact irrelevant information. Gilead was also ordered to produce Board of Directors documents related to the development of a TAF PrEP drug through October 2019. Plaintiffs’ request for Gilead to search compensation committee minutes was denied.
Additional Decisions
ADRIAN HOLLEY, et al., Plaintiffs,
v.
GILEAD SCIENCES, INC., Defendant
v.
GILEAD SCIENCES, INC., Defendant
Case No. 18-cv-06972-JST(JSC)
United States District Court, N.D. California
Signed May 01, 2020
Counsel
Steve W. Berman, Pro Hac Vice, Anne Fornecker Johnson, Pro Hac Vice, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Seattle, WA, Benjamin Lloyd Crump, Pro Hac Vice, Ben Crump Law, PLLC, Tallahassee, FL, Katrina R. Ashley, Pro Hac Vice, Robert Carl Hilliard, Hilliard Martinez Gonzales L.L.P., Corpus Christi, TX, Rio S. Pierce, Shana E. Scarlett, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Berkeley, CA, Whitney Kendall Siehl, Pro Hac Vice, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiff Adrian Holley.Steve W. Berman, Pro Hac Vice, Anne Fornecker Johnson, Pro Hac Vice, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Seattle, WA, Benjamin Lloyd Crump, Pro Hac Vice, Ben Crump Law, PLLC, Tallahassee, FL, Katrina R. Ashley, Pro Hac Vice, Robert Carl Hilliard, Hilliard Martinez Gonzales L.L.P., Corpus Christi, TX, Whitney Kendall Siehl, Pro Hac Vice, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Chicago, IL, Shana E. Scarlett, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Berkeley, CA, for Plaintiffs Aloysius William Reiter, Alvin Washington, Andrew Gudgel, Annette Cannon Johnson, Anthony Adams, Anthony B. Wilson, Anthony Tyrone Jackson, Antiqua Shirley, Antonio Kincey, Antonio Lavelle Jackson, Barry Todd Moses, Barry Weatherley, Bettie Jean Thomas, Brandon Sledge, Brian Maxey, Carlos Proctor, Christian Torres, Christine Cope, Clarence E. Southall, Jr., Claudio Moreira, Colette Eva Gilmer, Curtis Pritchett, Cynthia Durant, D'Andre L. Hale, Daniel J. McClean, Daniel Schenske-Shelton, Darron Barnes, Darryl Flammer, Daryl Lindsay, David Gonzales, David Johnson, David Maloney, David O'Neal Bozeman, David Zajac, Dennis Phillips, Deshawn C. Mitchell, Dinah Hardy, Dushawn Walker, Dwayne Ross, Elizabeth Anne Flournoy, Emily Jean Butler, Emmanuel Desire, Faykeita Dunbar Wearing, Felipe June Quiambao, Fred Monroe Cobbett, Jr., Georgia Elaine Tanner, Gilbert James, Gloria Lynn Green, Grace Marie Thomas, Jamal Loranso Smith, Jermaine Carter, Jermaine Fleming, Jerry Miller, John Lee Pullen, Juan Villarreal, Sr., Kathi Ray, Katina Hall, Kelly Gardner, Kelvin McCall, Kenneth Smith, Kenneth Taroy, Kent Horen, Kenyon Detai Belyeu, Kevin McQuay, Khaliq Muhammad, Kimberly Porter, Kyle Malone, Laquisha Park, Latanga Sparks, Lela Wilson, Levine Levingston-Jones, Marcus McCoy, Margaret Beacham, Marisa Dubose, Mark D. DeCosta, Mark David Killeen, Mark Williams, Martin W. Cooper, Matthew Jon Crenshaw, Maurizio Marchese, Mel M. Allen, Melvin Snoddy, Michael Tribble, Millicent Yvette Foster, Nicholas Jones, Noel Flores, Patricia Ann Briley, Patricia Michelle Fields, Peter Parmenter, Phyllis Malone, Raymond McNary-Willis, Raymond Pressley, Renne Black, Rhonda Faye Cook, Richard Mooney, Richard O'Quain, Robert Lee Davis, Jr., Robert Sackett, Roderick Eugene Cooper, Rodger Brunson, Ronald Alan Conner, Ronnie A. Powers, Ruby Altameemy, Russell Seelye, Shajuana Pope, Shane Priddy, Sharon Ann Malcom-Smith, Shaylene S. Johnson, Stacey Cook, Stephen Calhoun, Stephen Duane Miller, Tamara Perry, Tammy Frazier, Tony Hooker, Troy Oberholtzer, Victor Williams, Wanda Stokes James, William Patterson, Jr., William Saunders, Willie Daniel Turner, Wilton Towe.
Steve W. Berman, Pro Hac Vice, Anne Fornecker Johnson, Pro Hac Vice, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Seattle, WA, Benjamin Lloyd Crump, Pro Hac Vice, Ben Crump Law, PLLC, Tallahassee, FL, Robert Carl Hilliard, Hilliard Martinez Gonzales L.L.P., Corpus Christi, TX, Whitney Kendall Siehl, Pro Hac Vice, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Chicago, IL, Shana E. Scarlett, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Berkeley, CA, for Plaintiff Sabrina Dooley.
Shana E. Scarlett, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Berkeley, CA, Anne Fornecker Johnson, Steve W. Berman, Pro Hac Vice, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Seattle, WA, Katrina R. Ashley, Robert Carl Hilliard, Hilliard Martinez Gonzales L.L.P., Corpus Christi, TX, Robert C. Hilliard, Hilliard & Shadowen LLP, Austin, TX, Whitney Kendall Siehl, Pro Hac Vice, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiff Charanda Dowdy.
Shana E. Scarlett, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Berkeley, CA, Anne Fornecker Johnson, Steve W. Berman, Pro Hac Vice, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Seattle, WA, Katrina R. Ashley, Robert Carl Hilliard, Hilliard Martinez Gonzales L.L.P., Corpus Christi, TX, Whitney Kendall Siehl, Pro Hac Vice, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiffs Donald Malone, Duane Woodson, Gilbert Liriano, Harlan Robinson, Howard Wait, Jason Butler, Jerome Singletary.
Steve W. Berman, Pro Hac Vice, Anne Fornecker Johnson, Pro Hac Vice, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Seattle, WA, Katrina R. Ashley, Robert Carl Hilliard, Hilliard Martinez Gonzales L.L.P., Corpus Christi, TX, Robert C. Hilliard, Hilliard & Shadowen LLP, Austin, TX, Whitney Kendall Siehl, Pro Hac Vice, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Chicago, IL, Shana E. Scarlett, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Berkeley, CA, for Plaintiffs Jerry Johnson, Jewel Barrow, John Sim, Josh Sullivan, Kimberly Pollock, Kristofer Vice, Lanney Moore, Larry Sullivan, LaTanya Killingworth, Matthew Billy Hunter, Richard Biviano, Ronald Johnson, Samuel Ashley, Jr., Sara Gerald, Shirley Hudson, Tamela Kemp, William Thomas.
Shana E. Scarlett, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Berkeley, CA, Anne Fornecker Johnson, Steve W. Berman, Pro Hac Vice, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Seattle, WA, Benjamin Lloyd Crump, Pro Hac Vice, Ben Crump Law, PLLC, Tallahassee, FL, Katrina R. Ashley, Pro Hac Vice, Robert Carl Hilliard, Hilliard Martinez Gonzales L.L.P., Corpus Christi, TX, Whitney Kendall Siehl, Pro Hac Vice, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiffs Aaron Jerome Lyons, Aaron Kenneth Taylor, Alex Wells, Alphonso Wilson, Angela M. Carmouche, Arden Frost, Benjamin Henry Waters, Bernell Endsley, Jerry Brad Vandergriff, Brian Hayes, Bruce Kleinschmidt, Caroline Hunter, Carolyn Howard, Charisa Maynard, Charles Purdie, Charles Woody, Christopher Michael Abraham, Cindy Cowden, Constance R. Walker, Cora Spears, Corey Malone, Cynthia Gordon, Dale Cornelius Sharp, Daniel Davis, Darlene Robertson, Daron J. Davis, Darrel G. Christ, David Keach, David Emory Roberts, David Thompson, De'Mon Nolan, Debra Gonzalez, Delores Dodd, Demica Copelin, Deneen Elise Gardner, Derrick Carr, Derrick Jones, Devonia Young, Durrell Richard, E. Sanchel Spears, Earl Goforth, Emile Gainey, Eric Johnson, Erma Marzett, Ethline Thomas, Eunice Murphy, Evelyn Little, George Beverly, Jr., Gerald Starks, Gregory A. Craig, Gregory Fink, Henry Percival Williams, Hosea Allen, Jacqueline Garrett, Jacqueline E. Williams, Jamal Metoyer, James M. Criswell, James McKnight, James William Moon, Jr., Jeffrey K. Spreen, Jeffrey May, Jerome Armstead, John Black, John Messer, Jonathan Cole, Joseph A. Gallow, Joy Taylor.
Shana E. Scarlett, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Berkeley, CA, Katrina R. Ashley, Pro Hac Vice, Robert Carl Hilliard, Hilliard Martinez Gonzales L.L.P., Corpus Christi, TX, for Plaintiffs Marcellus K. Brothers, Javier Fernando Vasquez, Melissa Artison, Robert Gunn.
Robert Carl Hilliard, Hilliard Martinez Gonzales L.L.P., Corpus Christi, TX, for Plaintiff John Doe 1.
Anne Fornecker Johnson, Steve W. Berman, Pro Hac Vice, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Seattle, WA, Katrina R. Ashley, Pro Hac Vice, Robert Carl Hilliard, Hilliard Martinez Gonzales L.L.P., Corpus Christi, TX, Shana E. Scarlett, Pro Hac Vice, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Berkeley, CA, for Plaintiffs Aamira Mosely, Aaron C. Richardson, Sr., Aaron D. King, Adam Patasky, Adam Pettway, Alex Byron Willis, Alfonso J. Williams, Alisa Diane Holley, Allen Anderson, Alphonso Greggs, Amy D. Mooney.
Katrina R. Ashley, Pro Hac Vice, Robert Carl Hilliard, Hilliard Martinez Gonzales L.L.P., Corpus Christi, TX, Shana E. Scarlett, Pro Hac Vice, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Berkeley, CA, for Plaintiff Alithia Owens.
Shana E. Scarlett, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Berkeley, CA, Anne Fornecker Johnson, Steve W. Berman, Pro Hac Vice, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Seattle, WA, Katrina R. Ashley, Pro Hac Vice, Robert Carl Hilliard, Hilliard Martinez Gonzales L.L.P., Corpus Christi, TX, for Plaintiffs Angela Jackson, Angelo Reid, Ann M. Smart, Annie Frazier, Anthony Maurice Owens, Anthony Paul Blow, Antoinette Barton, Antonio Rodriguez, Arnita Edge, Arnold Lyons, Atta Trent, Aubrey W. Capers, Audrea Harris, Austin Johnson, Barbara Hughes, Bedricka Young, Benjamin Hood, Bernice Duarte, Bertha Lee Houston, Billy Busby, Jr., Billy Gene Derr, Billy H. Wynne, Blair Watters, Bobby I. Watts, Boyce G. Rock, Brandon Tenorio, Brenda Droskiewicz, Brenda Shorter, Brenda Valcarcel, Brian Richard Beasley, Caren Simmons, Carl Stewart, Carol B. Phipps, Carol Denise Lovejoy, Caroline Kennedy, Cathy B. Lord, Cedric D. Smith, Charlene Byrd, Charles Blake, Charles Clay, Charles Marrow, Charlie Davis, Christopher Brown, Christopher Duchesne, Clarisse Jordan, Claudia Pillado Salas, Clifford Reynolds, Consandra Crawford, Credence Harris, Cuong Nguyen, Dale Conrad, Damion Wynn, Daniel Grewon, Daniel Snodgrass, Danney M. Jeter, Darrin A. McLeod, Darryl W. Donnell, Darryl Wheatley, David E. Overton, Sr., David Eugene Larry, David L. Phillips, David Ruffin, David Stephan Glenn, David T. Williams, Dean Wagner, Deanthony King, Deborah Shudy, Dennis Earl Satterwhite, Derita James, Derrick Flowers, Diana Carol Cash, Diane Parker, Dick L. Mahan, Donald Joe Gordon, Douglas Edwards, Dwight Morrison, Eddie J. Pollnitz, Jr., Eddie McLamore, Edgar Ceja Chairez, Edna Fleming, Eduardo Villarreal, Edward Nickolas, Edward Sanders, Edward Tomlin, III, Efrain Toro, Eldon Borgen, Eleen Arboine, Elviria Fort, Emmanuel L. Wade, Eric Hall, Erice Howell, Erik Harris, Ernest Jett, Evan Hamilton, Evelynne Muse, Faraha McCray, Felix Otero, Jr., Francis Rubet, Frank E. Allen, Garth Leigh Dare, Gayle Dorskly, George Jamison, George Murray, Gilmer Dycus, II, Grace Kimama, Gregg Harold Marvin, Gregory Gooden, Gregory Sanders, Halbert Caldwell, Hasan Singleton, Hatari Farmer, Hattie Allen, Henry Busby, Henry Deininger, Henry James Peters, Sr., Isabel Paret, Jacqueline A. Morris, Jacquline M. Carter, James Arace, James Carbonell, James Holman, James L. Wilder, James Moore, James Sprio Alemisis, James W. McCarron, Jamica Hitchcock, Jamil F. Wilkinson, Sr., Jamoni Mayhan, Jane Doe 2, Jane Doe 3, Janet Yates, Jared Don Hawthorne, Jared Williams, Jarrod Sanders, Jasmine Nixon, Jason Carter, Jason Devore, Jason Roberts, Jeffery Atkins, Jeffrey R. Koker, Jennifer Butler, Jennifer Redmon, Jerry Gilden, Jerry Matthews, Jillaine Springer, Jimmy Anderson, Jimmy Carl Duncan, Joann Ardito-Hagenberg, Jodie Denise Dunbar, John 2 Doe, John Doe 3, Correctional Officer John Doe, 4, John Doe 6, John E. Clinton, John E. Dolan, John H. Mitchell, John M. Dickey, John Maynard, John Robert Quinlan, John Smith, Johnathan S. Armstrong, Johnnie Robinson-Walker, Johnnie E. Norman, Joseph Hinnen, Joseph Michael Festa, Joyce D. Stephens, Juanita Hubbard, Judy Garcia, Juan Maldonado, Karen Costner, Karen M. Palmer, Karen Smith, Kasmar Cheatham, Kathleen D. Griffith, Kathleen Dokich, Kathleen Mendrala Clark, Keith Lyons, Kelly Weston, Kelvin Broughton, Kendrick Ivory, Kenneth Brown, Kenneth Jahron Williams, Kenneth M. Whitmore, Kenneth Ray Johnson, Kevin Allen, Kevin Johnson, Kevin Uhrin, Kevin Watson, Khadija Plowden, Kimberly Adams, Kimberly Jones, Kris Hinds, Kristal Brown, Kyneshia Rainey, Lafindric Ford, Landia Doretha Dinkins, Laroya Donyae Lewis, Larry Butler, Larry Oliver, Lasean D. Lyles, LaShawna M. Whitehead, Lashonda Mitchell, LaTasha Stephens, Lavell Thomas, Lee Clark, Lee Magnuson, Lela M. Smith, Leo Cleere, III, Leonard Byrd, Leonard D. Morris, Lesley Perez, Letitia Hawkins, Linda Bersamina, Lindsey Roberts, Linus Altman, Lisa L. Casey, Lois Diane Facyson-Spencer, Lorraine Carpenter, Louis McKnight, Jr., Lue Mallett-Motallebi, Luis Ismael Mazariegos, Jr., Lyndon Merricks, Malcolm D. Steele, Malcom Martin, Mamie Key, Marc Steinbach, Marcelle Morris, Maricsha Dillard, Marilyn Harden Stewart, Marilyn Tatum, Mark Johnson, Martha Rogers, Marty Simms, Sr., Mary Polk-McClinnaham, Matthew Vega, Maurice Footrail, Maurice Scruggs, Maurice Thompson-Najera, Max Cabezas Palomino, Melvin Crum, Melvin Moore, Michael Jerinic, Michael Kenneth McNeil, Michael T. Tedd, Michael Williams, Michael Willis, Michelle M. Scott, Misty Marie Payne, Mitchell Hall, Montrell Cobbs, Montrellia Bush, Monty Johnson, Muhammad Mateen, Nafanzo Glass, Nancy Hernandez, Nelson Johnson, Nikko Ann Hill, Nina Baker, Norman Bradley, Odessa Harris, Odessa Valentine, Oleevya Williams, Ona Viola Atkins, Onyx Deramus, Oscar Bartley, Pamela Hamilton, Patricia K. Haskins, Patsy Ann McCart, Pelarr Porter, Peter Christensen, Rachel Samantha Armstrong, Randolph Boone, Rashard Reed, Ray D. Moore, Rayford B. Howard, Richard A. Nelson, Richard Nelson, Rickey Lee Peals, Robert Antonio Clay, Robert Godfrey, Robert Young, Roberto Enrique Rodriguez-Cruz, Rodney Creaie Williams, Rodney White, Ronald Davis, Ronald R. Rolling, Ronald Shelton, Ronney Fuller, Ronnie Sanks, Roy Rice, Royce Smith, Royslan McConnell, Ruth Ellen Hansen, Ryan Snead, Rynnaill Payton, Sammie Harrell, Samuel McGill, Samuel Miller, Samuel R. Robinson, Shana G. Goodloe, Shaniqua Carpenter, Shatara Dixon, Shawn Salter, Shedennia Greggs Archie, Sheila B. Dillon.
Shana E. Scarlett, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Berkeley, CA, Anne Fornecker Johnson, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Seattle, WA, for Plaintiff Sherrlena Coleman.
Corley, Jacqueline Scott, United States Magistrate Judge
ORDER RE: DISCOVERY DISPUTES Re: Dkt. Nos. 194, 221, 224, 232
*1 Plaintiffs in this pharmaceutical mass action “have taken one or more of Gilead’s drugs containing tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF)” and “have suffered unnecessary kidney and bone damage resulting from Gilead’s failure to provide adequate warnings and its decision to develop drugs containing TDF rather than the safer compound tenofovir alafenamide fumarate (TAF).” (Dkt. No. 75.) The district court has assigned discovery disputes to the undersigned magistrate judge. Now pending before the Court are four joint letters regarding various discovery disputes. (Dkt. Nos. 194, 221, 224, 232.) The Court held oral argument on April 23, 2020.
I. Gilead Fact Sheets (Dkt. No. 221)
Plaintiffs and Gilead have agreed to produce “fact sheets.” The parties presently dispute what information Gilead should be required to provide in their fact sheets concerning Gilead’s contacts/communications with each plaintiff’s physicians. Gilead agrees to provide the requested information to the extent it is available in its G360 database as follows:
1) Call Notes—Contemporaneous information inputted by sales representatives and medical scientists concerning their in-person contacts with healthcare providers (HCPs).
2) Email Records—Records of emails sent from sales representatives to HCPs using G360. 3) Medical Information Requests (“MIRs”)—Requests made by HCPs for scientific information relating for a TDF and/or TAF medication and Gilead’s responses thereto.
4) Dear Doctor Letters (“DDLs”)—Letters sent by Gilead to HCPs regarding safety updates about TDF and/or TAF medications, and responses thereto.
5) Consulting Relationships—Identification of relationships with HCPs, the dates consulted, and the nature of the relationship.
6) Speaker Presentations—Name and date of event where an HCP spoke for Gilead.
7) Clinical Trial Information—Identification of each clinical trial in which an HCP was a Principal Clinical Investigator.
The database is not complete: it begins in January 2013 and thus does not cover much of the relevant time period in this lawsuit. For responsive information prior to that date, however, Gilead would have to review unstructured data to compile the information Plaintiffs seek as to each plaintiff’s prescribing and treating physicians. At present there are over 900 plaintiffs in these consolidated actions, each with several physicians. The Court understands that Gilead is not withholding discovery prior to 2013: it has produced promotional material, letter and email templates, and speaker presentation PowerPoints—all of which are evidence of what Gilead was communicating to physicians. It has not, however, for example searched for particular emails that may have been sent to specific physicians prior to 2013 as it contends there is no centralized way to do so.
The Court declines to order Gilead to do more at this time. Plaintiffs fail to show that the discovery they seek is proportional to the needs of the case as its relevance, at least at this stage, is minimal. They contend that requiring Gilead to search non-centralized records for thousands of physicians “aids assessment of any individual claim, especially when Plaintiffs’ physicians are likely to be witnesses in this case and all these issues speak to potential bias.” (Dkt. No. 221-3 at 2.) The Court agrees that if a treating/prescribing physician actually gives testimony in this case, Plaintiffs are entitled to know that physician’s relationship with Gilead. But there is no indication at this stage in the litigation that all of the thousands of physicians potentially at issue will give testimony. The more burdensome searches can wait until the pool of potential witnesses (and bellwether plaintiffs) is narrowed.
*2 Plaintiffs’ insistence that such information as to each and every treating and prescribing physician is needed now to even begin to select bellwether cases is not persuasive given the nature of the claims at issue in this particular case. There is no allegation that Gilead paid or otherwise improperly induced physicians to use TDF drugs rather than TAF drugs—the allegation is that Gilead delayed development of the TAF drugs. And, as described by the district court, the failure to warn claims are premised on Gilead providing only the weakest, inadequate warnings to doctors and patients about “the need for frequent monitoring of all patients for TDF-associated kidney and bone damage –preventing doctors from detecting early signs of TDF toxicity.” (Dkt. No. 75 at 2-3.) In their joint letter brief Plaintiffs contend that they allege that there were alternative drugs available and thus they need to know whether Gilead incentivized physicians to prescribe Gilead’s TDF drugs over other drugs. But they make this contention without citation to their pleadings, and it does not appear in the district court’s description of their claims. In any event, as a start Plaintiffs will get the information available from January 2013 forward.
Given the minimal showing as to relevance, the Court declines to order Gilead to “recommission” its Tango database which it used for call records prior to 2013. Gilead represents it would cost over $100,000 to restore the database and make it searchable. At oral argument the Court asked Plaintiffs if they would be willing to bear that cost, and they demurred.
The Court agrees with Plaintiffs, however, that Gilead should search for Plaintiffs prescribing physicians and a certain number of treating physicians. Plaintiffs say up to four additional treating physicians and Gilead says none. Since the search is limited to the central database, Gilead has not explained how searching for additional names is overly burdensome. If Gilead had relationships/communications with these physicians, and that information is in the central database, then the information should be disclosed.
However, the Court declines to order Gilead to disclose the prescribing practices of each and every plaintiff’s prescribing physician. Plaintiffs contend that monitoring “the prescribing practices of Plaintiffs’ physicians as it relates to antiretroviral medications” is needed for Plaintiffs “to understand whether their own physicians were targeted based on this analysis.” But Plaintiffs do not explain how such evidence would tend to prove their design defect or failure to warn claims.
As for renumeration to Plaintiff’s treating physicians, it is unclear if Gilead is refusing to produce information that it has in a structured database or only that which is not centralized. Even if from 2013 forward such information is available on a government website, Gilead should produce the information it has in its own possession, custody and control. Given that it provides the information to the government, the Court assumes that it can access it back to a certain date from a structured data source.
There are other issues that appear in one party’s part of the statement, but not the other party’s. For example, Gilead’s portion of the joint letter brief addresses TDF/TAF Medications (Dkt. No. 221-4 at 9-10), but the Court cannot discern where that issue is addressed in Plaintiffs’ portion. This presentation is not helpful. Going forward the parties shall structure their statements so that they address the same issues in a coherent format. The moving party should provide their portion of the statement to the resisting party, the resisting party then responds, then the moving party can add a reply (within the page limits) to come after the resisting party’s response in the letter.
The parties’ joint motion to file portions of the letter brief and exhibits thereto under seal because they reference and/or describe Gilead’s highly confidential and proprietary brand plans and information data systems is GRANTED. (Dkt. Nos. 221, 228.) However, to the extent that the parties file future administrative motions to seal, they must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5(d)(1)(D)’s requirement that “[t]he unredacted version must indicate, by highlighting or other clear method, the portions of the document that have been omitted from the redacted version” and they shall ensure that there is no redacted text in the unredacted version of the submission.
II. ESI Protocol (Dkt. No. 232)
*3 The parties have agreed to use the ESI Protocol adopted for the California state court cases, except that Plaintiffs in these federal cases want an adjustment in the type of metadata they (but not Gilead) have to produce. Plaintiffs’ ESI is potentially relevant to statute of limitations and damages. The Court is unable to understand the parties’ arguments in the letter brief without concrete examples. Accordingly, Gilead is ordered to identify one plaintiff for whom Plaintiffs shall produce the required ESI in Plaintiffs’ preferred format. The parties shall then meet and confer as to why what is produced is or is not sufficient. While the meet and confer cannot occur in person, it must at least take place by video (as must all meet and confers before an issue is brought to the Court’s attention). It may be for some particular plaintiffs what Plaintiffs propose to produce is sufficient; for others it may not be. A rational approach might be for the parties to agree that for those initial productions in which, upon review, Gilead believes it needs more fulsome metadata, Plaintiffs would retain a vendor to retrieve that data for that particular plaintiff upon a particular showing. This approach avoids unnecessary costs for those plaintiffs who do not have many responsive documents or whose produced metadata already tells Gilead everything it reasonably needs to know. It is essentially the same approach that Gilead has advocated with respect to some of its own productions.
Nonetheless, if the parties cannot reach an agreement, then any further dispute on the ESI Protocol shall be submitted to the Court for resolution by May 29, 2020. Any such submission shall include as exhibits examples of the format as actually produced for a particular plaintiff and examples of what Gilead contends it needs.
III. Requests for Production (Dkt. No. 224)
Gilead shall produce responsive documents for the three additional Gilead scientists for the period October 2004 through January 1, 2009. It has already agreed to produce documents from these custodians pre-October 2006 and has not persuasively articulated why including the search through 2009 would be unduly burdensome. To the extent Plaintiffs’ proposed search terms result in too many unresponsive documents, then Gilead shall meet and confer with Plaintiffs to hone the search terms for these custodians to target potentially responsive documents.
Gilead shall search for responsive documents regarding its TAF decision-making through January 2016, when Gilead sought approval to market Vemlidy. Gilead’s position that there will not be any relevant documents can again be tested through honing the search terms during that period. The parties are expected to work collaboratively to mitigate the gathering of unresponsive documents. If the initial searches uncover troves of non-responsive documents, then Plaintiffs must work with Gilead to narrow the terms.
Gilead shall search Apollo for the relevant documents through October 2019 (rather than its proposed 2015 cut-off), but only in relation to those drugs that were approved after 2015. For example, as Genvoya was approved in 2015, there is no good reason to require Gilead to search for documents related to the development of Genvoya after that date. But since Descovy was not approved until December 2019, Gilead should search Apollo for documents related to the development of Descovy up to that date. Accordingly, the search terms will be narrowed for the period after 2015.
IV. Board of Director Documents (Dkt. No. 194)
Gilead agrees to produce responsive Board of Directors documents through December 31, 2016 provided that it may redact irrelevant information given the commercially sensitive nature of matters discussed at Board meetings. The Court agrees. Plaintiffs’ concern that Gilead will redact prejudicial relevant information is not well-taken; if counsel was going to violate their ethical obligations they would just withhold the document all together rather than produce it in redacted form. On other hand, the default in discovery is disclosure without redaction. The Court expects that if information is not commercially or scientifically sensitive it should not be redacted. Finally, to the extent Plaintiffs cannot understand a document because of redactions, they should confer with Gilead. That is a matter that the parties should easily and informally resolve.
Although it is not clear from the letter if there is a dispute as to what Gilead is producing through December 31, 2016, the Court is not ordering production of documents relevant to drugs not at issue in this litigation or discovery on the active ingredients contained in TAF or TDF drugs unrelated to the drugs at issue. Viread is a drug at issue in this litigation, even if it is being discussed in connection with Hepatitis B.
*4 As for the post-December 31, 2016 documents, Gilead shall produce Board of Directors documents, if any, related to the development of a TAF PrEP drug through October 2019—the date the FDA approved Descovy for PrEP. Gilead has not articulated any burden with respect to searching Board documents on this limited topic. The Court is not persuaded, however, that Board of Directors documents are the proper place to search for documents reflecting Gilead’s efforts to convince physicians of the safety benefits of TAF drugs over TDF documents. The relevant discovery is what Gilead told physicians; discovery that is being produced.
Plaintiffs’ request for Gilead to search compensation committee minutes is denied. This Order resolves Docket Nos. 194, 221, 224, 232, 238.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: May 1, 2020
JACQUELINE SCOTT CORLEY
United States Magistrate Judge