Multi-State Partnership for Prevention, LLC v. Samuel Kennedy, Kennedy Technology MK, and Kennedy Technology, LLC

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York granted Defendants’ motion concerning the manner of producing the PrepMod software source code in discovery. The court ordered Plaintiff to produce the source code through GitHub using read-only access and permitted monitoring through the platform’s history tools. Production was ordered by March 4, 2026, and the parties were directed to file a joint status report by March 28, 2026.

Holdings

1. Because GitHub was the original platform used to develop the PrepMod source code and provided a practical and reasonably usable means of preserving and reviewing the code and its history, the source code must be produced through GitHub rather than through Plaintiff's proposed alternative review arrangements.
2. GitHub production must use the platform's read-only feature, and Plaintiff may monitor Defendants' activity through GitHub's history tools to ensure that no modifications occur.
3. Plaintiff was required to produce the source code by March 4, 2026, and the parties were required to file a joint status report by March 28, 2026; existing discovery dates and deadlines remained in abeyance pending that report.

Questions Presented

1. What method and platform should be used to produce and permit review of the PrepMod source code during discovery?
2. Whether Plaintiff's proposed air-gapped, monitored virtual, or biometric-review alternatives were warranted instead of production through GitHub.
3. Whether GitHub production should be subject to restrictions, including read-only access and monitoring, under the parties' protective order and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Disposition

other