SEDGWICK CLAIMS
v.
FELLER
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Attorney-client privileged communications and work-product materials are protected from production in discovery, while other materials lacking such protection must be produced.
[1] Communications between an attorney and client are privileged and protected from disclosure.
[2] Documents prepared in anticipation of litigation are protected by the work-product doctrine.
Previewing 2 of 3 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“the attorney-client privilege, unlike the work-product doctrine, is not concerned with the litigation needs of the opposing party.”
The court distinguished attorney-client privilege from work-product doctrine in explaining the standard for protecting communications.
Sedgwick sought to withhold certain documents from its case file from production in discovery based on work-product and attorney-client privilege obje…
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IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA
FIFTH DISTRICT NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND DISPOSITION THEREOF IF FILED SEDGWICK CLAIMS MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.,
Petitioner,
v. Case No. 5D17-2346 LORI FELLER, LEGAL GUARDIAN OF THE PERSON AND PROPERTY OF JAMES MONDELLO, R. KEITH WILLIAMS, INDIVIDUALLY; R. KEITH WILLIAMS, P.A.; CHRISTINE MONDELLO; RICHARD G. HALPERN, ETC., ET AL., Respondents. ________________________________/ Opinion filed February 2, 2018
Petition for Certiorari Review of Order from the Circuit Court for Brevard County, Lisa Davidson, Judge.
Jason M. Azzarone and Kari K. Jacobson, of La Cava & Jacobson, P.A., Tampa, for Petitioner.
O. John Alpizar and Scott Alpizar, of Alpizar Law, LLC, Palm Bay, for Respondent, Lori Feller. No Appearance for other Respondents.
EVANDER, J. Petitioner seeks a writ of certiorari, challenging an order overruling its work-product and attorney-client privilege objections to the production of parts of its case file. We previously ordered the trial court to conduct an in camera review of the documents originally requested by Respondent, Lori Feller. See Sedgwick Claims Mgmt. Servs., Inc.
v. Feller, 163 So. 3d 1252 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015).
On remand, the trial court conducted an extensive in camera review of the numerous documents initially at issue. Petitioner now challenges the June 2017 order to the extent it requires Petitioner to produce documents 119, 132, 134, 135, 218-219, 220-221, 231-232, 360-361, 393-396, and 596-597 as designated in the sealed portion of the record.
After conducting our own review of the documents, we conclude that documents
218-219, 231-232, and 596-597 are privileged attorney-client communications.
Accordingly, the trial court’s order requiring production of said documents constituted a departure from the essential requirements of law. See § 90.502(2), Fla. Stat. (2006); see also Genovese v. Provident Life & Accident Ins. Co., 74 So. 3d 1064, 1068 (Fla. 2011) (“[T]he attorney-client privilege, unlike the work-product doctrine, is not concerned with the litigation needs of the opposing party.”) We also conclude that documents 360-361 are protected by the work-product doctrine. We deny the petition as to the remaining documents.
PETITION GRANTED, in part; DENIED, in part; and REMANDED.
BERGER and EDWARDS, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Peter R. Genovese, M.D. v. Provident Life & Accident Ins. Co., 74 So. 3d 1064 (Fla. 2011)
- Sedgwick Claims Mgmt. Servs., Inc. v. Feller, 163 So. 3d 1252 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015)