Vital Distributions, LLC v. Pepperidge Farm, Inc.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 VITAL DISTRIBUTIONS, LLC, No. 2:22–cv–319–MCE–KJN Plaintiff, ORDER v. (ECF No. 37) PEPPERIDGE FARM, INC., Defendant. 16 On August 29, 2023, the court held a hearing on plaintiff’s motion to compel responses to four requests for production of documents concerning communications and payment documents between defendant and other distributors. (ECF No. 37.) At the heart of the requests is plaintiff’s investigation of the term “retail store” as used in the contract underlying this dispute. Defendant objected on relevance, proportionality, confidentiality, and form of the questions. The court concurs with plaintiff on the relevance of the documents sought, as any communications and documents exchanged between defendant and other distributors about the scope of the term “retail store” weighs heavily on how this potentially ambiguous term should be interpreted. See Cal. Civ. Code § 1644 (“[T]he words of a contract are to be…