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Franklin County Ohio Clerk of Courts of the Common Pleas- 2023 Jan 17 12:11 PM-21CV002834
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IN THE COMMON PLEAS COURT FRANKLIN COUNTY, OHIO
CIVIL DIVISION
ADONNA BESECE,
Case No.: 21CV002834
Plaintiff,
Judge Karen Phipps
Vv.
Magistrate Jennifer Hunt
UNIVERSAL HANDICRAFT, INC., et al
Defendants.
MAGISTRATE ORDER REGARDING DISCOVERY MOTIONS
Pending before this Court are the following discovery related motions filed by the Plaintiff
and Defendants Focus Sales LLC and Guy Bar-Am (“Defendants”)
Motion Filing Date
Defendants’ Motion to Compel Written Discovery October 25, 2022
Defendants’ Motion for Protective Order November 11, 2022
Plaintiffs Motion to Compel Written Discovery November 30, 2022
e Plaintiffs Motion to Compel Depositions December 9, 2022
All motions have been fully briefed. These discovery motions were referred to Magistrate Hunt
and an oral hearing was conducted on January 5, 2022. Upon consideration of the briefing and
arguments of counsel at the hearing, the Court hereby orders as follows:
Defendants’ Motion to Compel Written Discovery.
Defendants’ motion is granted in part and denied in part. Defendants seek discovery related
to Plaintiffs personal financial documents. Plaintiff objects arguing Plaintiff’ financial condition
cannot be relevant because deceptive sales practices can occur with wealthy or poor people.
Defendants argue discovery relating to Plaintiff's other purchases could be relevant to show
Plaintiff s sophistication and susceptibility to deception, if any, and that Plaintiff engages in similar
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consumer transactions. The Court orders that Plaintiff shall produce credit card statements and
checking account statements showing purchases of similar luxury items, skin care products, beauty
equipment or treatments. The intent of this order is for Plaintiff to produce information, if any,
from these statements that show the types of purchases and the amounts paid. However, the
Plaintiff may redact personal identifiers, balances, deposits or other financial information in these
documents. Plaintiff shall redact account numbers except for the last 4 digits. The statements
shall be limited to calendar year 2019 and 2020. These documents shall be subject to the
confidentiality protective order.
Defendants’ Motion For Protective Order.
Defendants motion is granted in part and denied in part. The Defendants moved for a
protective order related to the production of certain confidential health care, business, commercial,
personal and financial information requested and/or produced in this case. Plaintiff opposed the
motion arguing the proposed order was too broad, not supported by evidence, placed unreasonable
burdens on Plaintiff. The Court weighed the costs and benefits of a protective order and
determined it was necessary because of the amount of sensitive, personal financial information
exchanged in the discovery. The Court orders counsel to work in good faith to see if an agreement
can be reached for a proposed order. If an agreement on language for an order cannot be reached,
the Court shall conduct a telephone conference with counsel on January 17, 2023 at 10:00 a.m.
Each party shall email their proposed order to the Court no later than 4:00 p.m. January 16, 2023
If counsel can reach an agreement on the proposed order prior to that date, the proposed order shall
be emailed to Magistrate Hunt for her review.
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Plaintiff's Motion to Compel en Discovery
Plaintiff’ s motion is granted in part and denied in part. Plaintiffs motion to compel written
discovery generally can be summarized as requesting the Defendants to produce business and/or
financial records in an attempt to prove Mr. Bar-Am was engaging in and directing a deceptive
consumer sales scheme. Plaintiff argues this discovery is important to prove Mr. Bar-Am is liable
either because he was allegedly directing the scheme or he is liable through the doctrine ofpiercing
the corporate veil. Defendants generally argue that the doctrine of piercing the corporate veil is
not applicable under the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act, that this discovery not proportional
to the needs of the case under the discovery rules, unreasonably intrudes upon privacy concerns
for Mr. Bar-Am and others, and or that the Defendants have already produced sufficient discovery
in this matter.
The Court orders Defendants to respond to Plaintiffs interrogatories, including sub-parts
of interrogatories, that exceed the limits contained in Civil Rule 33. In addition, the Court orders
as follows relating to the specific discovery requests served by Plaintiff:
1) For Plaintiff's First Set of Interrogatories to Defendant Focus Sales,
Defendant Focus Sales, LLC shall provide complete, substantive
responses, without objections, to Interrogatories 1, 2, 3 and 4,
including all sub-parts. If Focus Sales does not know some or all of
the owners of the entities identified in Interrogatory No.2 or does not
know some or all of the people or entities who are affiliated with the
bank accounts in Interrogatory No. 3, Focus Sales shall provide a
statement in response to each Interrogatory, under oath, reflecting the
efforts undertaken to obtain the relevant information and/or identify
the account holders or entities at issue in these Interrogatories.
2) For Plaintiffs First Set of Requests for Production of Documents to
Defendant Focus Sales, Defendant Focus Sales, LLC shall produce
documents and data, without objection, that is responsive to Requests
1-7. If Focus Sales does not have access to the account documents for
the people or entities who are affiliated with the bank accounts in
Request No. 1 or the entities in Request No. 5, Focus Sales shall
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provide a statement in response to the Interrogatory, under oath, that
reflects the efforts undertaken to obtain the relevant information
provide a statement in response to the Interrogatory, under oath, that
reflects the efforts undertaken to obtain the relevant information or
documents requested. The time scope for Requests No. 1 and No 5
shall be limited to calendar years 2019 and 2020. For Request No. 3,
Focus Sales shall produce payroll records for its employees in calendar
year 2019 and 2020. These records shall identify the name of the
employee, residence address as well as gross and net payroll amount.
Focus Sales may redact other personal identifiers on the payroll
records as well as redact information relating to withholding amounts.
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3 For Plaintiff's Second Set of Interrogatories to Defendant Guy Bar-
Am, Defendant Guy Bar-Am shall provide complete, substantive
responses, without objections, to Interrogatories 1-4, including all
subparts. If Mr. Bar-Am does not know some or all of the owners of
the entities identified in Interrogatory No. 1, or Interrogatory No. 3, or
Interrogatory No.4, Mr. Bar-Am is shall state as much responsive
information available to him and provide a statement in response to the
Interrogatory, under oath, that reflects the efforts undertaken to obtain
the relevant information and/or identify the account holders or entities
at issue in these Interrogatories.
4) For Plaintiffs First Set of Interrogatories to Defendant Guy Bar-Am,
Mr. Guy Bar-Am shall provide complete, substantive responses,
without objections, to Interrogatory 5 and identify each person who
engaged in sales for Focus Sales at Polaris Mall or Tuttle Mall for
calendar year 2019 and 2020. Mr. Bar-Am shall provide the name,
birthdate, last known address and telephone number for each person,
and indicate their status as employee, independent contractor or
otherwise. If any of the foregoing information is unknown to Mr. Bar-
Am, he shall provide a statement, under oath, that reflects the efforts
undertaken to obtain the relevant information
5) For Plaintiff's First Set of Document Requests to Defendant Guy Bar-
Am, Mr. Bar-Am shall produce documents, without objection, to
Requests 7-10, 12 & 17, as set forth below:
For Requests 7 & 8: The Court is aware that personal and
corporate tax documents have already been produced. The
Defendants are not required to produce those same tax
documents. Instead, the Defendants shall examine their tax
documents (or enlist the assistance of others who handle
their tax matters) to confirm that all tax documents relating
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to Mr. Bar-Am and Focus Sales, LLC, including K1, W2,
a
109! ‘01 r tax years 2019 and 2020, have been
prod this case. In particular, the Defendants shall
ensu 09! ent to Focus Sales or Mr. Bar Am,
as well as all 10! ent by Focus Sales or Mr. Bar-
Am to other pat een produced. If additional tax
documents are loc! tt have not been produced, they
shall be produced. If no additional tax documents exist,
Mr. Bar-Am shall so certify in a written statement, under
oath. Any documents produced in response to Request 7 &
8 shall be governed by the confidentiality protective order.
For Request 9: Mr. Bar-Am shall produce paychecks, pay
stubs, direct deposit documents or other documents
showing payments to Mr. Bar-Am from any source for
calendar year 2019 and 2020. Mr. Bar-Am may redact
personal identifiers and withholding information so long as
the documents reflect the name and address of the
employer; text showing the payments are directed to Mr.
Bar-Am; date of payment; and the net/gross amounts of
payments. These documents shall be governed by the
confidentiality protective order.
For Request 10: Mr. Bar-Am shall produce cell phone
billing statements for 2019 and 2020 for cell phones that he
used and for cell phones that are paid for by Mr. Bar-Am or
Focus Sales.
For Request 12: Mr. Bar-Am shall produce his personal
credit card statements for 2019 and 2020 that are in Mr
Bar-Am’s name or paid for by Mr. Bar-Am or Focus Sales.
The Defendants may redact account numbers except for the
last 4 digits. These documents shall be governed by the
confidentiality protective order.
For Request 17: Mr. Bar-Am shall produce complete
copies of statements for his personal checking accounts,
personal savings accounts and personal money market
accounts for calendar years 2019 and 2020. The Defendants
may redact account numbers except for the last 4 digits.
These documents shall be governed by the confidentiality
protective order.
6) For Plaintiff's Second Set of Document Requests to Defendant Guy Bar-
Am, Mr. Bar-Am shall produce complete, substantive responses, without
objection, to Requests 1-11, 14, 17 and 19 as set forth below
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For Request 1: The Defendants shall produce unredacted
sales data for sales made at Tuttle Mall and Polaris Mall
between September 2019 through February 2020. These
documents shall be governed by the confidentiality
protective order.
For Request 2: The Defendants shall produce statements
and other documents showing sales activity, deposits,
refunds or transfers from any Square, Inc. account to/from
Focus Sales or Mr. Bar-Am for calendar years 2019 and
2020. These documents shall be governed by the
confidentiality protective order
For Request 3: The Defendants shall produce account
statements and documents for calendar years 2019 and
2020, showing the owners of accounts that end with the
following last 4 digits and are reflected in the Focus Sales
checking account statements: 0601; 8001; 0535; 8682;
0258; 0537. If the Defendants do not have the ability to
obtain access to any or all of these account statements,
Defendants shall provide a statement, under oath, that
reflects the efforts undertaken to obtain the relevant
information. These documents shall be governed by the
confidentiality protective order
For Request 4: Mr. Bar-Am shall produce documents
relating to a transaction with Pop Yachts in Sarasota
Florida in June 2020 that is related to a money transfer
from Focus Sales to Pop Yachts
For Request 5: Mr. Bar-Am shall produce Focus Sales
payroll records for calendar years 2019 and 2020 as
previously addressed in this Order. These documents shall
be governed by the confidentiality protective order.
For Request 6: Mr. Bar-Am shall produce documents
relating to a transaction between Focus Sales and Sun
Home Builders Inc. in July 2020 that is related to a money
transfer from Focus Sales to Sun Home Builders.
For Request 7: Mr. Bar-Am shall produce data, in
electronic useable format, contained in any
bookkeeping/accounting software (i.e. Quicken,
Quickbooks etc.) used by Focus Sales for calendar year
2019 and 2020, if any. Defendants are not required to
produce documents containing or reflecting accounting
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advice or communications with their accountants. To the
extent any such documents exist, they shall be governed by
the confidentiality protective order.
For Request 8: Mr. Bar-Am shall produce source
documents and data, if any, that was provided to accountant
or tax preparer for years 2019 and 2020 and is not
contained in the electronic bookkeeping/accounting
software data produced in response to Request 7 above, to
the extent that any such document exists. Defendants are
not required to produce documents containing or reflecting
accounting advice or communications with their
accountants. If any of this data is in electronic format, it
shall be produced in a useable electronic format. These
documents shall be governed by the confidentiality
protective order.
a
For Requests 9-11: Mr. Bar-Am shall produce 109
forms showing Payment Card and Third Party Net tw
transactions for Focus Sales; 109 ee: issul
from Focus Sales; 109 - to or from
Focus Sales relatingto 0. These
documents shall be gov ‘the confidentiality
protective order.
For Request 14: Mr. Bar-Am shall produce documents that
reflect loans or lines of credit, if any, used by Focus Sales
in 2019 and 2020. The Defendants shall redact account
numbers except for the last 4 digits. The documents
produced shall reveal the lender, the borrower, the amount
of the loan, to whom the loan proceeds where paid, and
from where the loan payments were made. These
documents, to the extent they exist, shall be governed by
the confidentiality protective order.
For Request 17: Mr. Bar-Am shall produce expense reports
for business expenses that were paid or reimbursed by
Focus Sales to any person in 2019 and 2020. Personal
identifiers may be redacted but the following information
shall not be redacted: the name and address of the payor
(presumably Focus Sales); the name and address of the
payee; the description of the expense; the amount of the
expense; the date of the expense; the date of the
reimbursement; and any other data related to the expense.
amount and dates. If Focus Sales does not have expense
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reports and/or never used or created expense reports, Mr.
Bar Am shall provide a statement, under oath, confirming
the same. To the extent any such document exists, they
shall be governed by the confidentiality protective order.
For Request 19: Mr. Bar-Am shall produce records that
document business expenses claimed by Focus Sales or Mr.
Bar-Am for tax years 2019 and 2020 to the extent that any
such record exists. Defendants are not required to produce
documents containing or reflecting accounting advice or
communications with their accountants. To the extent any
such document exists, they shall be governed by the
confidentiality protective order
Plaintiff's Motion To Compel Depositions
Plaintiff's motion to compel deposition testimony was unopposed and is granted.
Defendants shall provide deposition testimony from Mr. Bar-Am and a representative from Focus
Sales, LLC at a date, time and location convenient for counsel, after the parties have complied
with this Order.
Construction of This Order and Continuing Juri: ion
This Magistrate Order should be construed by the Parties and their Counsel in a manner
that is consistent with full disclosure and full exchange of information and documents. Written
responses shall clearly communicate information and not be written in an ambiguous manner.
Documents shall be produced in an organized manner with an index or reference by Bates numbers
or otherwise to clearly indicate what documents are being produced in response to each discovery
request If a party redacts material consistent with this Order, and the other party articulates a
legitimate need for redacted material, the parties may submit the disputed document to the Court,
in an unredacted form, for an in camera inspection. No redacted information shall not be placed in
the public record without further order from this Court.
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Finally, Magistrate Hunt shall retain jurisdiction to address or enforce any discovery issues
and/or to interpret or enforce this Order. Counsel shall first attempt in good faith to resolve any
discovery issues but if a resolution cannot be reached, counsel shall email Magistrate Hunt for
further guidance on how to proceed.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Magistrate Jennifer Hunt
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Franklin County Court of Common Pleas
Date: 01-17-2023
Case Title: ADONNA BESECE -VS- UNIVERSAL HANDICRAFT INC ET AL
Case Number: 21CV002834
Type: MAGISTRATE ORDER
So Ordered
SZ Saf
Ifa) XA
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Kut
/s/ Magistrate Jennifer D. Hunt
Electronically signed on 2023-Jan-17 page 10 of 10
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Court Disposition
Case Number: 21CV002834
Case Style: ADONNA BESECE -VS- UNIVERSAL HANDICRAFT
INC ET AL
Motion Tie Off Information:
1. Motion CMS Document Id: 21CV0028342022-10-2599980000
Document Title: 10-25-2022-MOTION TO COMPEL DISCOVERY -
DEFENDANT: FOCUS SALES LLC
Disposition: MOTION GRANTED IN PART
2. Motion CMS Document Id: 21CV0028342022-1 1-1099980000
Document Title: 11-10-2022-MOTION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER
- DEFENDANT: GUY MICHAEL BAR-AM
Disposition: MOTION GRANTED IN PART
3. Motion CMS Document Id: 21CV0028342022-1 1-3099980000
Document Title: 11-30-2022-MOTION TO COMPEL DISCOVERY -
PLAINTIFF: ADONNA BESECE
Disposition: MOTION GRANTED IN PART
4. Motion CMS Document Id: 21CV0028342022-12-0999980000
Document Title: 12-09-2022-MOTION TO COMPEL - GENERAL -
PLAINTIFF: ADONNA BESECE
Disposition: MOTION RELEASED TO CLEAR DOCKET