Angela Picard et al. v. LLC (2013)

RULING ON PENDING DISCOVERY OBJECTIONS

The defendants have noticed the depositions of several experts disclosed by the plaintiffs.   Each notice of deposition has requested that the deponent bring to the deposition various documents.   The plaintiff has objected to most of the document requests.   Fortunately, counsel have resolved their differences on most of the objections.   There is still a major dispute concerning defendants' requests for production of all communications between Attorney Lehmann and plaintiffs' experts which requires a decision from the court.

It has been the law in this state for a long time that communications between an attorney and experts retained on behalf of a client are generally discoverable, since what a lawyer tells his or her client's expert is part of the basis for the expert's opinion.

Plaintiffs have lodged with the court the documents identified ¹ in their privileged logs.   The court has reviewed in camera all the documents presented, and has concluded that none of the documents constitute privileged communications, with one exception.   Plaintiffs produced a 57–page series of e-mails and other documents which largely consist of communications between Attorney Lehmann and Dr. Trugman.   The first 14 pages of these documents are not privileged and shall be produced to defense counsel.   The remaining 43 pages are privileged and are therefore not discoverable.

The plaintiffs shall produce these documents to defense counsel within 14 days from the date hereof.   It is so ordered.

Grant Miller, J. (401926)

FOOTNOTES

FN1. Plaintiffs' privilege log was not properly prepared.   If plaintiffs are to file any privilege logs in the future they will identify each document (including enough information to allow their adversaries and the court to know what it is about), and the privilege which they believe permits them not to produce the document.   If plaintiffs believe that only part of a document is privileged they will state this specifically..  FN1. Plaintiffs' privilege log was not properly prepared.   If plaintiffs are to file any privilege logs in the future they will identify each document (including enough information to allow their adversaries and the court to know what it is about), and the privilege which they believe permits them not to produce the document.   If plaintiffs believe that only part of a document is privileged they will state this specifically.

Miller, Grant H., J.