The setting is a discovery dispute in a construction defect action. The trial court overruled the homeowner’s association’s claim of attorney-client privilege regarding efforts to depose individual homeowners regarding disclosures made at informational meetings about the litigation. The appellate court granted the association’s petition for writ of mandate, stating: “To the extent this record reveals […]
Discovery Of Portions Of Other Patient’s Hospital Records Ordered.
The sons of a woman who died after hip replacement surgery brought an action against the hospital and doctors. The post-operative order for decedent provided for morphine and Dilaudid as pain medication, but the form order left blank spaces for the doses and intervals for their administration, and did not provide whether the pain medications […]
Factor At A Discount. Oh, What A Tangled Web We Weave.
A plaintiff was injured in a car accident and treated at first at Kaiser, and later at a surgery center on a “lien basis.” The bill for treatment at the surgery center was between $40,000 and $50,000. On the day of the surgery, the surgery center sold its account receivable and lien to a factor at […]
Courts Don’t Like Discovery Gotcha Tactics.
Discovery responses to requests for admissions [RFAs] were served four days late, subsequent to the responding party twice being ignored after requesting a two-week extension to respond. The requesting party moved the trial court to have all 119 RFAs deemed admitted pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 2033.280 (b). The court deemed discovery consisting of […]
Discovery Abuses: Play Nice Or Pay The Price!
The trial court ordered the entry of default after finding discovery abuses, including the concealment and destruction of requested documents. At the prove-up hearing, the trial court determined plaintiff was entitled to $691,280 in damages. The appellate court affirmed, concluding defendants willfully failed to comply with court orders, and that defendants “willfully concealed or destroyed written […]
Summary Judgment Reversed Despite Discovery Responses.
Defendant moved for summary judgment after plaintiff responded to special interrogatories and requests for production by stating they did not know whether any facts or documents supported various allegations of their complaint. In opposing summary judgment, plaintiffs explained the initial discovery responses were “a mistake” in a declaration. The trial court granted the motion for summary […]
Length Of Deposition.
Code of Civil Procedure section 2025.290, subdivision (a), limits the deposition of a witness to “seven hours of total testimony,” but the first sentence of that subdivision says: “The court shall allow additional time, beyond any limits imposed by this section, if needed to fairly examine the deponent or if the deponent, another person, or any other […]
Subpoenas Just What The Doctor Ordered.
A physician with board certification in addiction medicine reviewed prescriptions issued by a California doctor. As a result of that review, the medical board issued subpoenas to a doctor for medical records of ten patients. The doctor refused to comply, so the medical board petitioned the superior court to compel the doctor to comply. The superior […]
En Banc Opinion Changes Everything. No Fourth Amendment Protection In Hotel Registry Records.
Last year, we reported the following: No Fourth Amendment Protection In Hotel Registry Records. A Los Angeles City ordinance requires hotel operators to maintain certain registry information concerning guests, including their names, addresses and vehicle information, and to make the information available to police officers upon request. Motel operator challenged the ordinance, arguing it amounted to an unreasonable […]
Bar Exam Scores A Matter Of Public Interest.
Plaintiffs requested the State Bar provide them access to information contained in its bar admissions database, including applicants’ bar exam scores, law school attended, grade point averages, LSAT scores, and race or ethnicity “in order to conduct research on racial and ethnic disparities in bar passage rates and law school grades.” The California Supreme Court held: […]