Exhibit A  ## Metadata - Author: [[Michael H. Dore]] - Full Title: Exhibit A - Category: #articles - Document Note: --- tags: - #legal - #discovery - #wordpress Author: Michael H. Dore Source: Court filing (Exhibit A) Reference: https://readwise.io/reader/document_raw_content/362360998 date created: 2025-09-12 00:00 --- # Title: Exhibit A – Silver Lake Responses to Automattic Inc.’s Requests ## Table of Contents: - [📚 References](#-references) - [📝 Summary](#-summary) - [📖 Main Content](#-main-content) - [🗒️ Notes](#-notes) - [📖 References](#-references-1) - [🗣️ Paraphrase](#-paraphrase) - [📰 Newsletter](#-newsletter) - [✅ Action Items](#-action-items) - [🧪 Hypotheses](#-hypotheses) - [📊 Methodology](#-methodology) - [❓ Questions](#-questions) - [🔮 Future Research](#-future-research) - [💡 Implications](#-implications) - [🧠 Learning Styles Assessment](#-learning-styles-assessment) - [📊 Accessibility Assessment](#-accessibility-assessment) - [🌍 DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) Assessment](#-deib-diversity-equity-inclusion-and-belonging-assessment) - [✅ Logical validity](#-logical-validity) - [🔍 DARVO Analysis Prompt](#-darvo-analysis-prompt) - [🔍 SEO Evaluation](#-seo-evaluation) - [🎯 Conclusion](#-conclusion) ### References: - Davis v. Pinterest, Inc., 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 136985 (N.D. Cal. July 20, 2021) - Athalonz, LLC v. Under Armour, Inc., 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 130080 (N.D. Cal. July 23, 2014) (Judge Martinez-Olguin) ## 📝 Summary: This Exhibit contains Silver Lake’s objections and responses to Automattic Inc.’s discovery requests in litigation involving WPEngine and WordPress-related issues. Silver Lake repeatedly asserts standard discovery objections (relevance, overbreadth, privilege, confidentiality, undue burden on a non-party, duplicative of party discovery, and overbroad timeframes). Where it agrees to respond, Silver Lake limits production to non-privileged, responsive documents within narrow time windows and only to the extent such documents are not available from WPEngine (a party). For several requests, Silver Lake states it does not intend to produce documents. Key points: - For a request about complaints and negative coverage relating to Plaintiff and Silver Lake, Silver Lake offers a limited production only for WPEngine-related materials from September 20, 2024 forward, after a reasonable search, and only if not available from WPEngine. - For another request, Silver Lake offers to produce documents dated May 1, 2024 to present, again limited by availability from WPEngine. - For Requests No. 12 and 13 (regarding profit-maximization measures and related limitations on contributions to WordPress/WordPress Foundation), Silver Lake objects and states it does not intend to produce documents. ## 📖 Main Content: The document is a formal discovery response by a non-party investor (Silver Lake) to Automattic Inc.’s subpoena or document requests. It: - Incorporates general objections and specific objections to definitions. - Invokes privileges (attorney-client, work product, joint defense/common interest). - Asserts undue burden for a non-party and requires Automattic to seek materials first from parties (citing case law). - Limits any production by scope, timeframe, subject matter (WPEngine), and availability from the party. - Refuses production outright for certain sensitive, arguably central requests about profit strategies and WordPress contribution limitations. Contextual reading: - The dispute centers on WordPress ecosystem entities, with WPEngine implicated and Silver Lake positioned as a non-party holder of potentially relevant documents. - The responses reflect a protective posture often used by non-parties to minimize burden and protect confidential business information. ### 🗒️ Notes - Request No. 7: Complaints/negative press regarding Plaintiff, Plaintiff’s products/services, or Silver Lake. - Objections: relevance; overbreadth; vagueness; privilege; confidentiality; duplicative; undue non-party burden; overbroad time; public domain materials equally accessible; seek from parties first (Davis v. Pinterest; Athalonz v. Under Armour). - Conditional response: Will produce responsive, non-privileged documents regarding WPEngine, WPEngine’s products/services dated on or after September 20, 2024, after reasonable search, only if not available from WPEngine. - Response to Request No. 8: - Reasserts the same objections. - Conditional response: Will produce responsive, non-privileged documents dated May 1, 2024 to present, after reasonable search, only if not available from WPEngine. - Request No. 12: Documents on profit/revenue maximization measures for Plaintiff’s products/services, including changes to WordPress and any limitations on contributions to the WordPress site or WordPress Foundation, including actions at Silver Lake’s direction. - Objections: relevance; vagueness; overbreadth; privilege; confidentiality; duplicative; time overbreadth. - Response: Does not intend to produce documents. - Request No. 13: - Similar objections as No. 12. - Response: Does not intend to produce documents. ## 📖 References: - Davis v. Pinterest, Inc., 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 136985 (non-party burden standard). - Athalonz, LLC v. Under Armour, Inc., 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 130080 (party discovery first principle, Judge Martinez-Olguin). ## 🗣️ Paraphrase: 1) Original gist (Request No. 7 objection and limited commitment): - Silver Lake argues the request is vague, overbroad, and seeks non-relevant or privileged/confidential information, imposes undue burden on a non-party, and duplicates discovery that should be directed to parties first. Subject to these objections, it will provide non-privileged, responsive records about WPEngine, dated on or after September 20, 2024, found after a reasonable search, and only if WPEngine doesn’t already have them. Paraphrase: - Silver Lake says the request is too broad and unclear, seeks material outside the case and possibly protected by privilege or confidentiality, and unfairly burdens a non-party when similar records should be obtained from the parties. Nevertheless, it will, after a reasonable search, produce non-privileged WPEngine-related documents from September 20, 2024 forward, but only when those items aren’t accessible from WPEngine itself. 2) Original gist (Request No. 12 objection and refusal): - Silver Lake objects that the request about profit-maximizing measures and changes to WordPress (including any limits on WordPress contributions) is vague, overbroad, seeks privileged/confidential materials, is duplicative, and overbroad in time, and it does not intend to produce documents. Paraphrase: - Silver Lake claims the request on revenue strategies and WordPress-related changes is unclear, too expansive, potentially touches privileged and confidential areas, and overlaps with other discovery, so it will not produce any documents in response. ## 📰 Newsletter: Title: Your Weekly Dev Digest – Leveling Up WordPress, One Commit at a Time Hey folks! This week we’re sharpening our web dev chops and celebrating the open-source magic powering WordPress. - Learn Web Dev: Whether you’re mastering CSS layout tricks or diving into modern JavaScript, schedule 30 minutes for a focused practice sprint. Pair it with a Git kata: branch, PR, review, merge. Repetition builds fluency. - Recent Updates: Gutenberg keeps iterating—block patterns and performance wins continue to land. Keep an eye on theme.json enhancements for saner design systems. - Community Highlights: Shout-out to new contributors shipping their first patches. If you’ve been lurking, now’s the time to open your first issue or docs PR. The community thrives on your perspective. - New Plugins: Explore performance-first plugins that lazy-load assets, plus accessibility helpers to audit color contrast and ARIA. Always read the changelog and test in a staging environment. - Pro Tip: If your site is content-heavy, consider preloading critical assets and trimming unused CSS to keep Core Web Vitals happy. Questions, demos, or wins? Hit reply—we love showcasing community work in next week’s issue! Useful links: - WordPress Developer Resources: https://developer.wordpress.org - Gutenberg updates: https://make.wordpr - URL: https://readwise.io/reader/document_raw_content/362360998 Full text of this document omitted because this document is a PDF [Download original file →](https://readwise.io/reader/document_raw_content/362360998), Exhibit A, Michael H. Dore, 01k4z1n5dtvfxy8zwm4rnqd3sh.