Judge: Elaine W. Mandel, Case: 23SMCV02694, Date: 2024-01-22 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 23SMCV02694    Hearing Date: January 22, 2024    Dept: P

Tentative Ruling

Crochet v. Brown, et al., Case No. 23SMCV02694

Hearing date January 23, 2024

Plaintiff Crochet’s Motion to Compel Defendant Old Town Baking Company, Inc’s Production of Documents at Deposition

Plaintiff sues defendants driver Brown and his employer Old Town Baking for injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident. Crochet seeks an order compelling Old Town to produce documents responsive to Crochet’s inspection demand, numbers 33, 44, 45, and 46.

On July 24, 2023 Crochet served a notice of Old Town’s PMQ, with a request for production of documents, requests 33, 44, 45 and 46. Old Town objected to the request for production, though Keith Klinger, the PMQ, was deposed. An IDC was held.

RPD No. 33 requests “All DOCUMENTS concerning disciplinary action against Defendant Robbie Brown as a result of the INCIDENT.”

RPD No. 44 requests: “All correspondence between DEFENDANT and Defendant Robbie Brown, concerning the INCIDENT.”

RPD No. 45 re quests: “All emails between DEFENDANT and Defendant Robbie Brown, concerning the INCIDENT.”

RPD No. 46 requests: “All text messages between DEFENDANT and Defendant Robbie Brown, concerning the INCIDENT.”

Old Town asserted the following objections: attorney-client privilege, attorney-work product doctrine, vague, ambiguous, overly broad, irrelevant, and invasion of privacy.

As discussed at the IDC, if reports or documents were created at the request of counsel in anticipation of litigation, such would be protected via the attorney-client and/or work product privileges. The court orders defendant to produce a privilege log as to any responsive documents.