Motion-to-compel fines have been served to parties from Stanford University and Stanford-StartX Fund for blocking MedWhat's discovery request in the ongoing legal case.
Four parties in the legal defence against automated medical information assistant developer MedWhat’s lawsuit have been fined through motion-to-compel orders for obstructing discovery proceedings, Analytics Insight reported yesterday.
The motions demand $15,311 from the university; $12,330 from Suzanne Fletcher, manager of Stanford-StartX Fund, the StartX-affiliated VC vehicle at the heart of the case; $12,330 from Robert Wallace, chief executive of the university’s endowment; and $12,330 from Debra Zumwalt, vice-president and general counsel for Stanford University.
The news follows earlier reports suggesting MedWhat’s chief executive Arturo Devesa had been fined $11,000 for obstructing discovery. It now appears Stanford University objected to MedWhat’s discovery itinerary on several counts.
These include the notion MedWhat sought information irrelevant to the litigation and discovery process, and claims it was “overly broad” in scope, while also being harassing and oppressive.
MedWhat’s definitions of Stanford University and StartX were portrayed in the filings as vague and “ambitious”, and the company was said to be seeking information that was neither in the university’s possession nor “personal knowledge”.
The interrogations include demands for Stanford to explain the apparent dismissal of outgoing senior managing director Greg Milani in the wake of the case – to which the university objected on grounds of confidential information – and to identify Milani’s dealings and responsibilities within the fund.
Elsewhere, MedWhat’s probe largely seeks to use correspondence emanating from the university to prove its notion that Stanford officials used the StartX Fund – legally a separate entity – as a front to strike VC deals without surrendering its tax-exempt status as an academic institution.
The sought-after correspondence includes alleged communications between Susan Weinstein – Stanford’s assistant vice-president for business development – and both Sabrina Liang, director of school funds at the Stanford endowment, and Cameron Teitelman, chairman of Stanford-StartX Fund, that was dismissed by the cross-defendant as vague and “unintelligible.”
Further requests seek correspondence relating to Stanford-StartX Fund between Wallace and Debra Zumwalt, and between Zumwalt, Liang, Weinstein, Wallace and Randy Livingston, Stanford’s vice-president for business affairs and chief financial officer.
MedWhat also hopes to see any existing correspondence between Stanford employees and Florida’s Department of Revenue associated with MedWhat and Devesa, as well as messages concerning Devesa sent from employees and Stanford’s legal representatives to Colorado’s division of securities.
