RyCon Specialty Foods, Inc. v. Wellshire Farms, Inc.

Brief Fact Summary.

Wellshire Farms, Inc. requested the court to compel RyCon Specialty Foods, Inc. (RyCon) to produce discovery documents when RyCon objected to providing their financial records.

Synopsis of Rule of Law.

A party is not compelled to produce discovery documents with little relevance where the harm outweighs the presumption of disclosure.

Facts.

Wellshire Farms, Inc. (Wellshire) distributed cheese products for RyCon Specialty Foods, Inc. (RyCon). RyCon sued Wellshire claiming that Wellshire stopped paying RyCon for the products. Wellshire filed a counterclaim claiming that RyCon breached the agreement that Wellshire would be the exclusive distributor of RyCon products. Wellshire sought discovery documents from RyCon, including RyCon’s finances. Wellshire requested the court to compel RyCon to produce discovery documents when RyCon objected to providing their financial records.

Issue.

Whether a party is compelled to produce discovery documents with little relevance where the harm outweighs the presumption of disclosure?

Held.

No. Wellshire’s motion is granted regarding the business relationship between RyCon and Wellshire, but no other information is discoverable. Information regarding the business relationship between Wellshire and RyCon is important to determine whether or not an agreement existed between Wellshire and RyCon.

Discussion.

For an agreement to be enforceable: (1) both parties intend to be bound by the terms of the agreement, (2) the terms of the agreement must be defined, (3) the agreement must be supported by consideration.