First Wisconsin Mortgage Trust v. First Wisconsin Corp.

86 F.R.D. 160
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Wisconsin
DecidedMarch 12, 1980
DocketCiv. A. No. 75-C-127
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 86 F.R.D. 160 (First Wisconsin Mortgage Trust v. First Wisconsin Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
First Wisconsin Mortgage Trust v. First Wisconsin Corp., 86 F.R.D. 160 (E.D. Wis. 1980).

Opinion

REYNOLDS, District Judge.

This action was before the court on two discovery matters raised by the plaintiff relating to the production of documents by the defendants and by the Foley & Lardner (“Foley”) law firm. Plaintiff sought enforcement of a subpoena duces tecum served on Foley on October 10, 1979, to which Foley opposed a claim of work product, and plaintiff sought access to 126 documents withheld by the defendants on a claim of attorney-client privilege. Oral argument on the requests was held on December 28, 1979, plaintiff appearing by Harold Hirshman and Fruman Jacobsen, defendants by Kenneth Jurek, and Foley & Lardner by Robert DuPuy, at which time the Court denied the requests and stated the reasons would be filed later. This memorandum constitutes the reasons for the decision.

The interrelationship of the parties and of counsel in this action is relevant to reso[163]*163lution of the discovery requests, and, therefore, a brief history is set forth. The plaintiff First Wisconsin Mortgage Trust (“Trust”) was established in 1971 under the sponsorship of the defendant First Wisconsin Corporation (“FWC”). It was advised on its investments by the defendant First Wisconsin Mortgage Company (“FWMC”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of FWC, and was jointly involved in various loan transactions with the defendant First Wisconsin National Bank (“FWNB”), also a subsidiary of FWC. Through March 12, 1975, when this action was commenced, the Trust had few independent officers or employees. After that date, all of its officers and employees who were also officers or employees of the defendants resigned with the exception of the Trust’s president, Roger Fitzsimonds, and its vice president and secretary, Louis Giese, both of whom were also officers of one or more of the defendants. Those two men retained their positions with the Trust until April 1, 1979, at its request, and with its knowledge that they also retained their positions with the defendants. They resigned effective that date due to the defendants’ intention to use them in preparation of this case for trial.

From 1971 through February 1974, the Trust and the defendants were all represented by the Foley law firm. In February 1974, the Trust retained the firm of Sonnenschein, Carlin, Nath & Rosenthal (“Sonnenschein”) as special counsel to advise it in all matters relating to troubled loans, and by April 1974, Sonnenschein also had commenced representation of the Trust in connection with its claims against the defendants. Foley continued to represent the defendants as general counsel and in connection with this litigation. On November 15, 1976, this Court ordered Foley disqualified as counsel for the defendants in this litigation. First Wisconsin Mortgage Trust v. First Wisconsin Corporation, 422 F.Supp. 493 (E.D.Wis.1976). Mayer, Brown & Platt (“Mayer”) filed a notice of appearance for the defendants on December 15, 1976. On June 14, 1977, the Court denied Mayer’s motion for access to Foley’s work product, First Wisconsin Mortgage Trust v. First Wisconsin Corporation, 74 F.R.D. 625 (E.D. Wis.1977). That order was affirmed by the court of appeals on September 22, 1978, First Wisconsin Mortgage Trust v. First Wisconsin Corporation, 571 F.2d 390 (7th Cir. 1978), but reversed on rehearing en banc 584 F.2d 201 (7th Cir. 1978).

Foley continues to act as general counsel for the defendants. It has turned over to Mayer more than 150,000 documents from its files, many of which have in turn been given to the plaintiff. Foley has also withheld some documents from Mayer.1 Of plaintiff’s discovery requests now before the court, the first relates to documents which Mayer has not requested from Foley and which Foley has not produced to Mayer, and the second relates to documents which Foley has turned over to Mayer but which Mayer declines to show to the plaintiff.

THE PLAINTIFF’S REQUEST FOR FOLEY’S WORK PRODUCT WHICH HAS NOT BEEN PRODUCED TO MAYER

On October 10, 1979, the Trust served on Foley a subpoena which directed Foley to bring with it to a deposition and to produce: “ * * * all notes, memoranda, re-

ports, summaries and any other writings — formal or informal — in the possession, custody or control of Foley & Lardner, that relate to interviews, investigations, discussions, or conferences conducted by, or in the presence of, any attorney or employee of Foley & Lardner, or any co-counsel, of any actual or potential witness, expert, consultant, or participant in any work-out or litigation concerning a loan in which the First Wisconsin Mortgage Trust (“Trust”) was, or had been, a participating, sole or lead lender and wherein Foley & Lardner (or its co-counsel) represented any or all of the First Wisconsin Corporation, the First Wisconsin National Bank of Milwaukee, the First Wisconsin Mortgage Company, or the Trust.”

[164]*164The factual information before the court is limited and not always clear, but from the briefs and exhibits filed by the parties and the representations made by counsel during the oral argument, the situation appears to be as follows:

(1) As to the nature of the documents requested, despite the breadth of language in the document request as set forth in the subpoena, it appears from the briefs and the affidavit of Robert DuPuy of Foley, filed with respect to this motion, that the documents at issue consist solely of memoranda written by members of the Foley law firm following interviews conducted by them of witnesses in potential litigation arising out of approximately forty loans for which the defendant FWNB was the lead lender and the plaintiff was a participating lender.2 (DuPuy affidavit, filed December 11, 1979, paragraphs 3, 4, and 7.) The DuPuy affidavit states in paragraph 7 that Foley has no witness statements per se; rather it has “notes prepared by Foley & Lardner attorneys of conversations with ‘potential’ witnesses, in most instances officers or former officers of the Bank or Mortgage Company.” The notes have not been turned over to Mayer, defendants’ counsel in this litigation. Plaintiff has offered to limit its request by permitting Foley to excise “any attorney’s opinions, mental impressions or legal conclusions contained in these witness statements.” (Plaintiff’s brief, filed November 26, 1979, at 2.)

(2) As to the time frame, Foley has agreed to produce all of its files, including notes of potential witnesses made prior to February 1974 when the Trust retained Sonnenschein. Plaintiff seeks all notes made after that time through the present date.3

(3) Foley asserts that plaintiff has already scheduled depositions of many of the persons whose statements are at issue. (DuPuy affidavit, paragraph 9 — final exhibit to Foley’s brief filed December 11, 1979.) Plaintiff claims not to know the identity of the witnesses, when their statements were taken, or how many witnesses are involved, but it also states that its scheduled depositions will not exhaust even the FWNB employees who have knowledge of the loans, and that many witnesses already deposed have been unable to recall the loan transactions. Plaintiff also alleges that many of the witnesses are employees of the defendants who may be hostile to plaintiff and therefore uncommunicative about the loans.

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Bluebook (online)
86 F.R.D. 160, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/first-wisconsin-mortgage-trust-v-first-wisconsin-corp-wied-1980.