Clover Staffing, LLC v. Johnson Controls World Services, Inc.

238 F.R.D. 576, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88238, 2006 WL 3511934
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Texas
DecidedDecember 6, 2006
DocketCivil Action No. H-03-1251
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 238 F.R.D. 576 (Clover Staffing, LLC v. Johnson Controls World Services, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Clover Staffing, LLC v. Johnson Controls World Services, Inc., 238 F.R.D. 576, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88238, 2006 WL 3511934 (S.D. Tex. 2006).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER ON CLOVER’S MOTION TO COMPEL

ROSENTHAL, District Judge.

Defendant, Johnson Controls World Services, Inc., asserted claims of attorney-client privilege and work-product protection as to four documents. Plaintiff, Clover Staffing, L.L.C., moved to compel production of these documents. (Docket Entry No. 102). JCI submitted the documents for in camera inspection and submitted two declarations in support of its privilege and protection claims. (Docket Entry No. 114). Clover moved to strike the first declaration JCI submitted, (Docket Entry No. 101), and JCI responded, (Docket Entry No. 115).

The documents at issue fall into two categories. The first category is part of a 45-page Powerpoint presentation that was based on notes from a July 30, 2002 meeting.1 The second category consists of three documents: an email dated November 27, 2002 and three documents setting out financial analysis relating to Clover generated by JCI in 2003.2

Based on a careful review of the motions and responses, the documents submitted in camera, the record, and the applicable law, this court grants the motion to compel as to one document (the Powerpoint presentation, JCI-PR-115-136) and otherwise denies it. The reasons are explained below.

I. The Applicable Law

In civil cases in which state law supplies the rule of decision, privilege is determined in accordance with that state’s law. See Fed.R.Evid. 501. The parties agree that Texas law governs the attorney-client privilege claim and federal law determines the work-product protection claim. (Docket Entry No. 103 at 14, 17; Docket Entry No. 114 at 4).

A. Attorney-Client Privilege

To be protected by the attorney-client privilege, a communication must be confidential and between qualified persons. See Tex.R. Evtd. 503(b).3 Qualified persons include the attorney, the client, and their representatives. Id. “A communication is ‘confidential’ if not intended to be disclosed to third persons other than those to whom disclosure is made in furtherance of the rendition of professional legal services to the client [579]*579or those reasonably necessary for the transmission of the communication.” Tex.R. Evid. 503(a)(5). A corporation’s communication is privileged if “the employee makes the communication at the direction of his superiors in the corporation and where the subject matter upon which the attorney’s advice is sought by the corporation and dealt with in the communication is the performance by the employee of the duties of his employment.” In re E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 136 S.W.3d 218, 225 at n. 3 (Tex.2004).

There is no presumption under Texas law that documents are privileged; the party asserting privilege must demonstrate its application. Id. at 225-26; see also In re Monsanto Co., 998 S.W.2d 917, 925 (Tex. App-Waco 1999, orig. proceeding). “The documents themselves may constitute sufficient evidence to make a prima facie showing of attorney-client or work product privilege.” In re E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 136 S.W.3d at 223. “[A]n affidavit, even if it addresses groups of documents rather than each document individually, has been held to be sufficient to make a prima facie showing of attorney-client and/or work product privilege.” Id.

B. Work-Product Protection

To qualify for work-product protection, a document must be created in anticipation of litigation by a party or his agent.4 “ ‘In anticipation of litigation’ means that the primary motivating purpose behind the creation of the document was to aid in possible future litigation.” Smith v. Texaco, Inc., 186 F.R.D. 354, 357 (E.D.Tex.1999). “Litigation need not necessarily be imminent to protect documents prepared by attorneys in anticipation thereof to be within the work product doctrine, as long as the primary motivating purpose behind creation of the document was to aid in possible future litigation.” Exxon Chemical Patents, Inc. v. Lubrizol Corp., 131 F.R.D. 668, 670 (S.D.Tex.1990). Documents created for a business purpose are not covered by the work-product protection. See Navigant Consulting, Inc. v. Wilkinson, 220 F.R.D. 467, 473 (N.D.Tex.2004) (documents created for a business purpose are not protected even though the “information developed ... may be helpful in legal proceedings”); In re Kaiser Aluminum & Chem. Co., 214 F.3d 586, 593 (5th Cir.2000) (“The law of our circuit is that the privilege can apply where litigation is not imminent, ‘as long as the primary motivating purpose behind the creation of the document was to aid in possible future litigation.’ ”) (citing United States v. El Paso Co., 682 F.2d 530, 542 (5th Cir.1982)).

II. Analysis

A. The Powerpoint

The parties have submitted a declaration of Stephen Herbst, a vice-president of Johnson Controls World Services, a JCI subsidiary. The declaration describes the creation of the Powerpoint. (Docket Entry No. 114, Exs. A-l, A-2). Clover has moved to strike this declaration, asserting that it is inconsistent with Herbst’s earlier deposition testimony and with the testimony of other witnesses.

Herbst stated in his declaration that the Powerpoint was generated based on notes taken at a July 30, 2002 meeting that he called to review the JCI/BP contract. In his declaration, Herbst stated that on July 30, 2002, he was aware that there had been friction between Clover and JCI’s Houston office and that Clover had been “expressing its dissatisfaction” with JCI over the records-management business. Herbst also stated that it was “probable” he had received a copy of a letter from a lawyer representing Clover (dated July 10, 2002); that he knew that Clover was “saber rattling”; and that Mark Sutton at Clover had previously threatened [580]*580to sue or had sued BP over a legal dispute with that company. (Docket Entry No. 114, Ex. A). Clover points to Herbst’s earlier deposition testimony that he did not know of “defaults” by Clover and did not know about any JCI e/fort to terminate the Clover contract over a reeords-management dispute (the dispute that sparked the July 10, 2002 letter from counsel). Clover also points to deposition testimony by Cam Nerdahl, JCI’s director of the BP Houston account, in which Nerdahl stated that he viewed the reeords-management dispute as a business rather than a legal problem and that he was not working through the legal department but rather attempting to resolve the matter on a business basis. Clover asks this court to strike Herbst’s declaration. (Docket Entry No. 101).

Clover relies on cases that have allowed district courts considering a summary-judgment motion to disregard a nonmovant’s affidavit that contradicts, without explanation, previous deposition testimony. See S. W.S.

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Bluebook (online)
238 F.R.D. 576, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88238, 2006 WL 3511934, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/clover-staffing-llc-v-johnson-controls-world-services-inc-txsd-2006.