Texas Supreme Court Draws Line on Attorney Immunity Privilege
The without prejudice (“WP”) rule generally prevents statements made in a genuine attempt to settle an existing dispute from being put before the court as evidence. Usually, these statements are made in communications between...more
The litigation privilege insulates communications made by lawyers and their clients during, and in some circumstances, prior to judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings from defamation and other tort claims. ...more
Before filing any civil lawsuit, it is important to consider the possible defenses your opponent may raise. This is particularly important is cases involving defamation, a civil claim that arises from the negligent,...more
U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals - Ga v. Shafer - elections, federal officer removal, pretrial habeas - Ga v. Clark - elections, federal officer removal, special purpose grand jury, federal question - Gemini...more
The Federal Circuit recently issued a nonprecedential decision in Toyo Tire Corp. v. Atturo Tire Corp., concerning Toyo’s alleged trade dress in its tires, and Atturo’s counterclaims premised on Toyo’s settlement negotiations...more
The absolute litigation privilege is a long-standing legal principle that statements made during the course of a judicial proceeding by participants in the proceeding (whether parties, attorneys, witnesses, or judges) are...more
Michael Qualizza v. Neil D. Freeman, et al., 2024 IL App (1st) 231534-U (July 26, 2024) - Brief Summary - The First District Appellate Court in Illinois reaffirmed the broad scope of the absolute litigation privilege in...more
Construction projects are often complex and involve many different parties and moving parts. This often necessitates a continued investigation of facts and assessment of legal rights and obligations to ensure that the owner...more
A recent decision out of the Alberta Court of Appeal found that as soon as a company handed over their investigative reports to regulators in connection with a pipeline incident, privilege over the reports was lost....more
The concept of the “shareholder principle” in English law provides that a company cannot assert privilege against its own shareholders, unless the privileged documents in question were created for the dominant purpose of...more
Companies hit with website accessibility or physical access claims brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and/or California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act (Unruh Act) may experience great frustration upon...more
For as long as there have been rules of evidence and courtrooms, there have been products that can impair litigants or witnesses—and products whose use carries the potential to trigger certain stigmas in the eyes of the...more
The Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of a defamation action based on statements made during a court-ordered arbitration. The “judicial statements privilege,” as it’s known in Kentucky, provides an “absolute...more
Four co-defendants meet with their joint defense counsel to discuss a pending lawsuit. The meeting ends and all participants are confident that the discussions will remain private. There is just one problem. One of the...more
Legislation must show a clear, explicit and unequivocal intention to abrogate privilege before a party is required to disclose privileged information, the Ontario Court of Appeal reiterated in its recent decision of Ontario...more
Privilege is a legal concept that can have a significant impact on internal investigations. It refers to certain types of communications or documents that are protected from disclosure because they are considered confidential...more
HR Managers and in-house lawyers frequently face the task of navigating and protecting legal privilege. Issues around privilege often arise during internal investigations, data subject access requests and discussions of...more
Plaintiffs in the case were creditors of William von Thaden, who was married to Kimberly von Thaden until their divorce in 2017. The defendant, Michael I. Flores (defendant), represented Kimberly in the underlying divorce...more
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently affirmed the dismissal of a direct claim against an attorney based on the litigation privilege. The attorney, who represented the wife in a divorce proceeding, was sued by...more
Judge Krupp, sitting in the Massachusetts Business Litigation Session, granted Uber’s motion to compel documents containing the identities of drivers who shared information with the Attorney General about their work for Uber...more
In the recent case of Kyla Shipping Co Ltd v Freight Trading Ltd [2022] EWHC 376 (Comm) the English Commercial Court rejected a claim to litigation privilege over preliminary investigations conducted by a party appointed...more
Expert advice on the pricing of forward freight agreements, used to “make good any legitimate grievance” and “add ballast” in correspondence concerning alleged corporate mismanagement, was not covered by litigation privilege...more
On February 3, 2022, New Jersey’s Appellate Division issued a decision for publication addressing the scope of the common law litigation privilege and, among other things, whether that privilege attaches to the filing of a...more
CASES OF NOTE - CONVEYANCE OF PROPERTY RESULT OF MUTUAL MISTAKE - Thomas v. Medeiros, 100 Mass. App. Ct. 1106 (2021) - The Massachusetts Appeals Court recently affirmed a determination by the Land Court that a...more
When are communications with counsel that are for both legal advice and business purposes protected by the attorney-client privilege? From least to most stringent, courts have required that a communication be “because of”...more