Tanyous, et al. v. Banoub
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EFiled: Feb 19 2010 4:26PM EST Transaction ID 29659327 Case No. 3402-VCN COURT OF CHANCERY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE 417 SOUTH STATE STREET DOVER, DELAWARE 19901 TELEPHONE: (302) 739-4397 FACSIMILE: (302) 739-6179 JOHN W. NOBLE VICE CHANCELLOR February 19, 2010 Via LexisNexis File & Serve and First Class Mail George H. Seitz, III, Esquire Seitz, Van Ogtrop & Green, P.A. 222 Delaware Avenue, Suite 1500 P.O. Box 68 Wilmington, DE 19899-0068 Re: Mr. and Mrs. Medhat Banoub 30 Jonathan Drive Newark, DE 19701 Tanyous, et al. v. Banoub C.A. No. 3402-VCN Date Submitted: February 16, 2010 Dear Mr. Seitz and Mr. and Mrs. Banoub: I write to address the Plaintiffs request for relief from the protective order, dated December 8, 2008. The purpose of Plaintiffs application is to allow their counsel to review with them certain documents used by their forensic accountants in preparing an expert report that will likely form the foundation for further proceedings Tanyous, et al. v. Banoub C.A. No. 3402-VCN February 19, 2010 Page 2 in this matter. The Defendants have objected to any relaxation of the protective order s strictures. The protective order (at paragraph 5) limits disclosure of documents produced during discovery and designated as confidential to counsel and experts who undertake a confidentiality commitment. Thus, in the absence of a modification of the protective order, the Plaintiffs are prohibited from seeing certain documents obtained from Defendants. The documents which the Plaintiffs seek to review with their counsel are identified in Mr. Seitz s letter of February 1, 2010. Most of the documents (all of them except for certain Citizens Bank documents) have been reviewed by the Court in camera. For reasons that follow, the protective order will be modified to allow Plaintiffs counsel to review with his clients and their advisors the subject documents. They will not be given possession of the documents and the inspection may only be in the presence of their counsel. First, some of the documents, especially those related to Happy Child World, perhaps should not have been included within the scope of the protective order in the first place. Second, the documents are now all more than eighteen months old. To Tanyous, et al. v. Banoub C.A. No. 3402-VCN February 19, 2010 Page 3 the extent that any competitive advantage might be gained by Happy Child World over Happy Kids Academy, that risk has been substantially minimized by the passage of time. Third, any intrusion into the Defendants privacy interests is minimized by several factors, including the passage of time, the limited access that the Plaintiffs and their advisors will have pursuant to this modification of the protective order, and the strictly financial nature of the documents. Moreover, and this perhaps is the most important factor, the Defendants apparently irregular even if wholly innocent handling of Happy Child World s financial records in conjunction with their personal financial records requires that some access be afforded to the Plaintiffs in order to allow them to appreciate fully the strengths and weaknesses, such as they are, of their case against the Defendants. Finally, the Court notes that this modification of the protective order is fully supported by its review of the record submitted for in camera review. Accordingly, the protective order is revised to allow Plaintiffs counsel to review with his clients and their advisors the documents identified in counsel s letter of February 1, 2010. Possession of the documents shall not be given to Plaintiffs or their advisors; review shall only be in the presence of Plaintiffs counsel. Anyone Tanyous, et al. v. Banoub C.A. No. 3402-VCN February 19, 2010 Page 4 viewing the documents is prohibited from discussing them with anyone not authorized to view the documents. All additional persons who view the documents shall first sign the certificate attached to the protective order. protective order shall remain in full force and effect. IT IS SO ORDERED. Very truly yours, /s/ John W. Noble JWN/cap cc: Register in Chancery-K Otherwise, the
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