Non-party production was served on Westco, who had financed a transaction which was at the heart of the litigation. The non-party sought a protective order as to the documents. The court denied the protective order without conducting an in camera inspection of the documents which were claimed to be privileged. The Fourth DCA granted certiorari and reversed, finding that the trial court's failure to conduct a "balancing of interests analysis" or an in camera inspection of the documents was a departure from the essential elements of the law. In so doing, the court rejected the argument that the privileges had been waived by failing to produce a privilege log. The court specifically held that the rules of civil procedure do not obligate a non-party to produce a privilege log to preserve the privileges. The case was remanded for the trial court to conduct the proper hearing and inspection.

* * *

For more information on this topic, you may send an email to Dorothy Venable DiFiore at .