Day: July 28, 2009

State Farm has secrets – but not for long!

Coast attorney Deborah Trotter is at it again – and this time she’s challenging “secrets” by number in her Response to the whisper-in-your-ear Motion for Protective Order the great nuzzler Scot Spragins filed  Lizana v State Farm!

Defendant identifies 46 documents in its privilege log that it claims qualifies for protection as trade secrets. However, the description of those 46 documents is vague and general. Defendant cannot meet its burden to make a “specific showing” that the document or information withheld qualifies for protection by beginning each description with the word “Specific.”

The Privilege Log from State Farms motion and excerpts from Lizana’s Opposition citing igascullen1specific items by number with reference to related Rules and/or Code Sections cited in the Response (also by number!) follows — all supporting Trotter’s contentions:

The Uniform Local Rule 26.1(A)(1)(c) requires that “a party withholding information claimed privileged or otherwise protected shall submit a privilege log that contains at least the following information: name of the document; description of the document; date; author(s); recipient(s); and nature of the privilege. To withhold materials without such notice subjects the withholding party to sanctions under FED. R. CIV. P. 37 and may be viewed as a waiver of the privilege or protection.”

Defendant lists only three of those categories in its privilege log: 1) Document, 2) Description, and 3) Privilege. Defendant identifies 46 documents in its privilege log that it claims qualifies for protection as trade secrets. However, the description of those 46 documents is vague and general. Defendant cannot meet its burden to make a “specific showing” that the document or information withheld qualifies for protection by beginning each description with the word “Specific.” Continue reading “State Farm has secrets – but not for long!”

What does Lawrence of Arabia have in common with a suburban 12 year old girls basketball team?

From Malcolm Gladwell’s recent column in the New Yorker. (H/T a reader)

What that defense did for us is that we could hide our weaknesses,” Rometra Craig said. She helped out once Redwood City advanced to the regional championships. “We could hide the fact that we didn’t have good outside shooters. We could hide the fact that we didn’t have the tallest lineup, because as long as we played hard on defense we were getting steals and getting easy layups. I was honest with the girls. I told them, ‘We’re not the best basketball team out there.’ But they understood their roles.” A twelve-year-old girl would go to war for Rometra. “They were awesome,” she said.

Lawrence attacked the Turks where they were weak—the railroad—and not where they were strong, Medina. Redwood City attacked the inbounds pass, the point in a game where a great team is as vulnerable as a weak one. Lawrence extended the battlefield over as large an area as possible. So did the girls of Redwood City. They defended all ninety-four feet. The full-court press is legs, not arms. It supplants ability with effort. It is basketball for those “quite unused to formal warfare, whose assets were movement, endurance, individual intelligence . . . courage.”

David actually beat Goliath with out of the box thinking.  Are we in that mix too here at Slabbed? You betcha. Continue reading “What does Lawrence of Arabia have in common with a suburban 12 year old girls basketball team?”