Brokaw v. Davol Inc.

Superior Court of Rhode Island·Decided May 15, 2009·No. C.A. Nos. 07-5058, 07-4048, 07-1706, 07-3666·Published

Opinion

DECISION
Before this Court is the motion of Plaintiffs Barbara Brokaw, Raymond Mutz, Tammy Oakley, and Delza Young (Plaintiffs) — to compel Defendants C.R. Bard, Inc. and Davol Inc. ("Defendants") to produce a consultant's report and related documents ("Quintiles documents") over which Defendants assert the work product privilege. After a hearing, this Court ordered that the documents in dispute be provided to the Court for an in camera review.

I
Factual Background
The disputed documents consist of an audit report and supporting documentation prepared by Quintiles Consulting ("Quintiles"), an independent consulting firm retained by Bard following Bard's decision to voluntarily recall certain models of the Composix Kugel Hernia Patch in December 2005 and March 2006. The voluntary recalls were prompted by reports of patient injuries allegedly caused by the malfunction of a ring component inside some of the hernia patches. The first recall was followed by an inspection by the Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") of Davol's facilities in *Page 2 Cranston, Rhode Island in January and February 2006.1 Following the inspection, the FDA issued a Form 483 letter2 and an Establishment Inspection Report ("EIR"), 3 which together made certain critical observations relative to Davol's compliance with applicable federal regulations.

Bard hired Quintiles shortly after the FDA inspection, and Quintiles consultants first appeared at the Davol site in May 2006. Quintiles subsequently issued several audit reports, one major report in June 2006 and two other reports in September and October 2006. The reports were addressed to Bard's then-Vice President and General Counsel Judith Reinsdorf, and bear the label "subject to attorney work product doctrine."

In August 2006, the first products liability claims related to the hernia patches in question were filed against the Defendants. Currently, there are over 1000 such cases pending before this Court against these Defendants. On October 23, 2008, the Court heard oral arguments on Plaintiffs' motion to compel production of the Quintiles documents. After considering the parties' arguments, the Court ordered that the Quintiles documents be produced for an in camera review. The Court has completed its review and will now render a decision. *Page 3

II
Standard of Review
"In granting or denying discovery orders, a justice of the Superior Court has broad discretion." Corvese v. Medco Containment Services,Inc. 687 A.2d 880, 881-882 (R.I. 1997). Moreover, our Supreme Court will not disturb a decision by a Superior Court justice relating to discovery save for an abuse of discretion. Id.; see also Kelvey v.Coughlin, 625 A.2d 775, 776 (R.I. 1993)). "The term `discretion' imports action taken in the light of reason as applied to all the facts and with a view to the rights of all the parties to the action while having regard for what is right and equitable under the circumstances and the law." Hartman v. Carter, 121 R.I. 1, 4-5, 393 A.2d 1102, 1105 (1978).

III Analysis
1
The Work Product Doctrine
The work-product doctrine protects documents and tangible things that are "prepared in anticipation of litigation or for trial by or for another party or by or for that other party's representative." Sup. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(3). The first category of work-product, called "opinion" or "core" work-product, consists of an attorney's mental impressions, conclusions, opinions, or legal theories, and is absolutely immune from discovery. Id.; Crowe Countryside Realty Associates, Co., LLC v. NovareEngineers, Inc., 891 A.2d 838, 842 (R.I. 2006). The second category, called "factual" or "ordinary" work-product, is a qualified privilege that may be overcome "upon a showing that the party seeking discovery has substantial need of the materials in the preparation of the party's case and that the party is unable without undue hardship to obtain the substantial *Page 4 equivalent of the materials by other means." Sup. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(3);Crowe, 891 A.2d 842.

In determining whether a document was prepared in anticipation of litigation, Rhode Island uses the "because of" test. Cabral v.Arruda, 556 A.2d 47, 49 (R.I. 1989). "[T]he test is whether in light of the nature of the document or intangible material and the facts of the case the document can be said to have been prepared or obtainedbecause of the prospect of litigation, by or for an adverse party or its agent." Id. (emphasis added). The underlying rationale for work product protection is to "prevent an attorney from `freeloading' on his or her adversary's work." Carbal, 556 A.2d at 48.

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