Coastline Terminals of Connecticut, Inc. v. United States Steel Corp.

221 F.R.D. 14, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25471, 2003 WL 23413071
CourtDistrict Court, D. Connecticut
DecidedAugust 18, 2003
DocketCiv. No. 3:00CV1698 (WWE)
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 221 F.R.D. 14 (Coastline Terminals of Connecticut, Inc. v. United States Steel Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Coastline Terminals of Connecticut, Inc. v. United States Steel Corp., 221 F.R.D. 14, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25471, 2003 WL 23413071 (D. Conn. 2003).

Opinion

DISCOVERY RULING

FITZSIMMONS, United States Magistrate Judge.

Pending discovery issues were submitted by letter at the request of the Court. Oral argument was heard on June 26, 2003. After careful consideration, the Court rules as follows.

Site Access Agreement

The parties agreed to add a provision to the site access agreement to exchange labo[15]*15ratory results for samples taken from the site. The parties stated their agreement on the record to use their best efforts to complete a walk-through in the next thirty (30) days and to make a physical collection of samples within forty-five (45) days.

The parties discussed maintaining the status quo of certain site conditions such as wood chip/filler piles and top soil until sampling occurs. Counsel for Coastline, NHT, Waste Management, Northeast Waste Management and Ronsal North, LLC will confer with their clients and USS within ten (10) days to determine if there are any objections to maintaining the current site conditions. Counsel for Coastline will inform the Court when its client plans to move the top soil and/or wood chips. Coastline will contact USS immediately if any alteration of these site conditions is occurring or is imminently planned so that USS may file an application to maintain the status quo.

Microfiche

USS agreed to produce the microfiche, without cost, at its offices until July 31, 2003. The parties are agreeable to discussing low cost ways to view the microfiche. The parties may contact the Court to resolve any disputes.

USS’s Letter dated June 20, 200S: Issues 1-9

1. USS seeks specific identification of former USS employees with whom Coastline or its counsel has communicated, including the dates, form and substance of such communications. USS argues that this information is not protected by the attorney work product doctrine as claimed by Coastline. At oral argument, Coastline agreed to file a letter brief on or before July 15, 2003. USS’ response is due July 22, 2003.

2. USS seeks production of copies of all remaining allegedly privileged documents in the possession of Triton Environmental Inc., as listed on Triton’s August 17, 2001 Privilege Log. Triton originally withheld 87 documents as “attorney-environmental consultant communication.” Triton currently claims a privilege for only 8 documents and withdrew its objection to production of all other documents. Accordingly, within ten (10) days of this order, Triton will provide bates stamped copies of these documents, clearly identifying the documents by number as listed on the August 17, 2001 privilege log.

Attorney-Environmental Consultant Communication

Triton’s privilege log asserts an “attorney-environmental consultant communication” privilege as to documents ## 25, 31, 37, 38, 41, 42, 52 and 86. At oral argument, counsel for Coastline also asserted a work product privilege.

Beginning in July 1996, Triton Environmental, Inc. was retained by Coastline to conduct environmental studies and testing, to develop remedial plans and to oversee remedial work on the property.1 Triton provided no evidence suggesting that it was retained as a consultant by Coastline’s law firm, Updike, Kelly and Spellacy (“UKS”).

[16]*16“The attorney-client privilege may cover communications made to agents of an attorney hired to assist in the rendition of legal services.” United States Postal Service v. Phelps Dodge Refining Corp., 852 F.Supp. 156, 161 (E.D.N.Y.1994)(quotation marks omitted) (quoting U.S. v. Schwimmer, 892 F.2d 237, 243 (2d Cir.1989)). In U.S. v. Kovel, 296 F.2d 918, 922 (2d Cir.1961), our circuit court ruled that “the attorney-client privilege can attach to reports of third parties made at the request of the attorney or the client where the purpose of the report was to put in usable form information obtained from the client.” Phelps Dodge Refining Corp., 852 F.Supp. at 161 (quoting Federal Trade Comm’n v. TRW, Inc., 628 F.2d 207, 212 (D.C.Cir.1980)). In Phelps Dodge Refining Corp., the Court explained:

[The consultants] were hired by defendants to formulate a remediation plan acceptable to the [New York State Department of Environmental Control] and to oversee remedial work at the Property. Their function was not to put information gained from defendants into usable form for their attorneys to render legal advice, but rather, to collect information not obtainable directly from defendants____

852 F.Supp. at 161.

It is undisputed that Triton was not hired by Updike, Kelly and Spellacy lawyers specifically to assist them in rendering legal advice. Indeed, Triton was hired by Coastline in 1996 to, among other things, formulate an Environmental Site Assessment work plan and Environmental Land Use Restriction acceptable to the Connecticut DEP and' in conformity with the Connecticut Transfers Act and Remediation Standard Regulations. Triton has not argued that its function was to put information gained from Coastline into usable form for UKS to render legal advice. Coastline has also clearly stated its intention to name Triton as its expert witness in this case. “Experts hired to testify are not considered representatives of the lawyer for the purpose of the privilege because their communications are subject to disclosure at trial and, therefore, are not confidential communications.” 3 Jack B. Weinstein & Margaret A. Berger, Weinstein’s Federal Evidence f 503.12[5][a] at 503-32.2 (2d Ed.2002). Because employees of Triton are outside the attorney-client privilege, documents they prepared are discoverable. Phelps Dodge Refining Corp., 852 F.Supp. at 162. Triton has failed to show that the attorney-client privilege is applicable here. See Id. at 159 (“The burden of proving each element of the [attorney-client] privilege rests on the party claiming protection.”).

Work-Product Doctrine

At oral argument, Coastline’s attorney, Joseph Rosenthal, raised a claim of work-product privilege for the first time, explaining that he was inexperienced when he prepared the privilege log in August 2001. In addition to counsel’s failure to raise the work-product privilege in August 2001, and to raise the privilege in the two years since the privilege log was prepared, counsel also failed to brief the Court prior to oral argument in June 2003 on the applicable law. Nevertheless, the Court will consider the assertion of work-produet privilege out of a sense of fairness to Attorney Rosenthal’s client, Coastline.2

“Voluntary disclosure to a party outside the privilege destroys the attorney-client privilege because it destroys the confidentiality of the communication.” ECDC Environmental, L.C. v. New York Marine and General, No. 96CIV.6033, 1998 WL 614478 (S.D.N.Y. June 4, 1998)(citing In re von Bulow, 828 F.2d 94, 102-03 (2d Cir.1987)).

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221 F.R.D. 14, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25471, 2003 WL 23413071, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/coastline-terminals-of-connecticut-inc-v-united-states-steel-corp-ctd-2003.