Buckley LLP v. Series 1 of Oxford Ins. Co. Nc LLC

2020 NCBC 81
CourtNorth Carolina Business Court
DecidedNovember 9, 2020
Docket19-CVS-21128
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 2020 NCBC 81 (Buckley LLP v. Series 1 of Oxford Ins. Co. Nc LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Carolina Business Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Buckley LLP v. Series 1 of Oxford Ins. Co. Nc LLC, 2020 NCBC 81 (N.C. Super. Ct. 2020).

Opinion

Buckley LLP v. Series 1 of Oxford Ins. Co. NC LLC, 2020 NCBC 81.

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION MECKLENBURG COUNTY 19 CVS 21128

BUCKLEY LLP,

Plaintiff,

v. ORDER AND OPINION ON MOTIONS TO COMPEL SERIES 1 OF OXFORD [Public] 1 INSURANCE COMPANY NC LLC,

Defendant.

1. THIS MATTER is before the Court on Plaintiff Buckley LLP’s (“Buckley”)

Motion to Compel (“Buckley’s Motion”), (ECF No. 75), and Defendant Series 1 of

Oxford Insurance Company NC LLC’s (“Oxford”) Motion to Compel Production of

Documents Withheld as Privileged (“Oxford’s Motion”), (ECF No. 82), (together, the

“Motions”).

2. The Motions put at issue whether certain email communications were

properly withheld from production by both parties on grounds of attorney-client

privilege and/or work product immunity. Oxford’s Motion challenges whether

Buckley, a law firm, may withhold certain email communications with the outside

law firm Buckley retained to investigate workplace misconduct allegations against

one of Buckley’s founders. Buckley claims the outside firm was engaged in legal work

1 Recognizing that this Order and Opinion cites and discusses communications that the parties contend are protected from disclosure due to the attorney-client privilege and/or work product doctrine, and out of an abundance of caution, the Court elected to file this Order and Opinion under seal on November 9, 2019. The Court then permitted the parties an opportunity to propose redactions to the public version of this document. Neither Plaintiff nor Defendant proposed any redactions. in connection with and separate from the investigation and thus that Buckley’s

assertion of privilege is proper; Oxford disagrees, arguing that Buckley’s outside

counsel was not engaged in legal work during or after the investigation. Buckley’s

Motion seeks production of certain email communications involving Oxford’s general

counsel. Oxford argues that its general counsel’s communications were made in her

legal, not business, capacity, and thus are privileged; Buckley disagrees, contending

that these communications were made in the general counsel’s business role during

Oxford’s claims review process and thus should be produced.

3. After reviewing the Motions, the briefs in support of and in opposition to the

Motions, the relevant materials associated with the Motions, the arguments of

counsel at a hearing on the Motions, and the materials provided by the parties for the

Court’s in camera review, the Court, in the exercise of its discretion and for good

cause shown, hereby rules on the Motions as set forth below.

Williams & Connolly LLP, by William T. Burke, Elizabeth Wilson, and John K. Villa, McGuireWoods LLP, by Mark Kinghorn, and Buckley LLP, by Adam Miller, for Plaintiff Buckley LLP.

Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP, by James P. Cooney, Jonathan R. Reich, Elizabeth J. Bondurant, James S. Derrick, and Marcey A. Selle, for Defendant Series 1 of Oxford Insurance Company NC LLC.

Bledsoe, Chief Judge. I.

FINDINGS OF FACT

4. These findings of fact are made solely for the purpose of deciding the

Motions. Any findings of fact that are more appropriately considered conclusions of

law are incorporated therein.

5. Buckley is a law firm located in Washington, D.C., and Oxford is an

insurance company. (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 1–2, ECF No. 56.) This action concerns whether

coverage is available to Buckley under an insurance policy Oxford issued to Buckley

on December 29, 2017 that affords coverage to Buckley for certain losses associated

with the departure of key revenue-generating partners (the “Policy”). (Am. Compl.

Ex. A.)

6. Buckley filed its Complaint initiating this action on October 29, 2019, which

it later amended on August 4, 2020, asserting claims against Oxford for breach of

contract, unfair and deceptive trade practices, breach of the duty of good faith and

fair dealing, and tortious refusal to settle an insurance claim, all of which are based

on Oxford’s refusal to provide coverage under the Policy in connection with the

departure from the firm of one of the firm’s founding partners, Andrew Sandler

(“Sandler”), shortly after the Policy’s inception. (Compl., ECF No. 3; Am. Compl.)

7. The facts concerning Buckley’s retention of an outside law firm and that

firm’s work for Buckley are relevant to the Court’s consideration of Oxford’s Motion.

Likewise, the facts concerning the work performed by Oxford’s general counsel are

significant to the resolution of Buckley’s Motion. The Court discusses each below. 8. On December 15, 2017, three members of Buckley’s Executive Committee

learned of potential misconduct by Sandler. (Ex. 1 – Excerpts Dep. John P. Kromer

70:14–71:11, 73:23–74:6, ECF No. 86.1; see also Ex. 6 – Buckley Notice Claim, at

BUC015219, ECF No. 82.7.) Both Buckley’s in-house general counsel and its outside

counsel were immediately contacted after the Executive Committee met concerning

this information. (Ex. 1 – Excerpts Dep. John P. Kromer 79:20–80:6.)

9. In response to the misconduct allegations against Sandler, the Executive

Committee engaged Latham & Watkins LLP (“Latham”), a prominent national law

firm, on December 21, 2020 to investigate Sandler’s conduct. (Ex. 1 – Excerpts Dep.

John P. Kromer 82:2–4 (“[W]e decided that we should engage outside counsel to assist

and conduct the investigation.”); Ex. 3 – Buckley Engagement Letter Latham &

Watkins, ECF No. 82.4; Ex. 6 – Buckley Notice Claim, at BUC015219 (“Latham was

retained thereafter to conduct a confidential, independent investigation of the

allegation.”).)

10. An investigation into the alleged misconduct was required under Buckley’s

firm policies. (Ex. 1 – Excerpts Dep. John P. Kromer 81:9–18 (“The policy required

that we investigate all allegations of harassment or other misconduct. And so, you

know, we believed it was the right thing to do generally. It also was consistent with

what the firm handbook requires.”); Ex. 13 – Joint Decl. Benjamin Klubes, John

Kromer, & Christopher Witeck ¶ 2 (“In the event of a complaint regarding potential

harassment, the Harassment-Free Policy . . . requires [Buckley] to investigate: ‘All

reported or reasonably suspected occurrences of harassment will be investigated . . . in a confidential manner and as promptly and thoroughly as is

practicable and necessary.’ ”), ECF No. 92.5.)

11. The work Latham performed for Buckley is critical to the resolution of

Oxford’s Motion. Latham’s engagement letter with Buckley provided, “You have

asked us to represent you in connection with an internal review of a personnel

matter.” (Ex. 3 – Buckley Engagement Letter Latham & Watkins, at BUC015158.)

The engagement letter further stated, “Our responsibilities under this agreement are

to provide legal counsel and assistance to you in accordance with this letter[.]” (Ex.

3 – Buckley Engagement Letter Latham & Watkins, at BUC015159.)

12. According to one of Latham’s two principal partners involved in the

investigation, the engagement letter “was intended to cover a broad range of legal

advice and services that Latham might need to provide to Buckley in connection with

the allegations against Mr. Sandler.” (Ex. 4 – Decl. Jonathan C. Su ¶ 4, ECF No.

86.4.) This same Latham partner also avers that Latham was hired both to

investigate the misconduct allegations and “to perform a number of legal functions in

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Related

Buckley, LLP v. Series 1 of Oxford Ins. Co., NC, LLC
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2020 NCBC 81, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/buckley-llp-v-series-1-of-oxford-ins-co-nc-llc-ncbizct-2020.