In re CFS-Related Securities Fraud Litigation

223 F.R.D. 631, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18678, 2004 WL 2075167
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Oklahoma
DecidedApril 23, 2004
DocketNos. 99-CV-825-K(J), 00-CV-111-K(J), 99-CV-839-K(J), 99-CV-828-K(J), 99-CV-862-K(J) to 99-CV-864-K(J), 99-CV-873-K(J), 99-CV-829-K(J), 99-CV-874-K(J), 00-CV-110K(J), 99-CV-889-K(J), 00-CV-205-K(J), 02-CV-591K(J), 99-CV-919-K(J), 00-CV-847-K(J), 02-CV-961K(J), 00-CV-104K(J), 02-CV-531K(J)
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 223 F.R.D. 631 (In re CFS-Related Securities Fraud Litigation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re CFS-Related Securities Fraud Litigation, 223 F.R.D. 631, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18678, 2004 WL 2075167 (N.D. Okla. 2004).

Opinion

ORDER

JOYNER, United States Magistrate Judge.

Currently before the Court for consideration is the motion by Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw LLP (“Mayer Brown”) to compel the production of documents from Plaintiffs’ investment counsel which some Plaintiffs claim are protected by the attorney client privilege. [Case No. 99-CV-828-K(J), Docket No. 639-1]. Some Plaintiffs’ groups agree with Defendants that the privilege is waived, and have agreed to produce the documents. Some Plaintiffs groups have asserted that the privilege has not been waived.

The Court has reviewed the briefs filed by the parties, considered the applicable case law and the arguments of counsel. The Court GRANTS IN PART AND DENIES IN PART Mayer Brown’s motion to compel the documents as more fully detailed in this Order. [Case No. 99-CV-828-K(J), Docket No. 639-1],

Mayer Brown asserts that to the extent that the Plaintiffs assert reliance upon their attorneys’ receipt of the Mayer Brown authored Negative Assurance Letters to establish the reliance element of Plaintiffs’ claims, the Plaintiffs have waived the attorney client privilege. Mayer Brown asserts waiver with respect to two categories of documents. First, Mayer Brown contends that Plaintiffs have waived the attorney client privilege with respect to any alleged reliance by Day Berry & Howard LLP (“DBH”)1 or in-house counsel on any documents or information in connection with the CFS-related securitizations. Second, Mayer Brown asserts that Plaintiffs have waived the attorney client privilege with respect to the nature and reasonableness of DBH’s or in-house counsel’s alleged reliance on Mayer Brown.

The Plaintiffs have different positions with respect to Mayer Brown’s arguments. Some Plaintiffs have affirmatively waived the privilege; some Plaintiffs request that the Court enter an Order specifying the extent of the waiver; and some Plaintiffs contend no waiver has occurred.

1. WAIVER AND EXTENT OF WAIVER ASSERTED BY SOME PLAINTIFFS’ GROUPS

A. Plaintiff Bank Hapoalim and Plaintiff Pioneer Insurance Company

The Bank Hapoalim and the Pioneer Insurance Company Plaintiffs,2 contend that they have neither resisted nor precluded inquiry by Mayer Brown regarding DBH. The Bank Hapoalim and Pioneer Insurance Company Plaintiffs additionally note that they have produced any documents in their possession regarding DBH. The Court finds that Bank Hapoalim and Pioneer Insurance Company have voluntarily produced the documents requested and waived their attorney client privilege. Plaintiffs Bank Hapoalim and Pioneer Insurance Company are not required to produce any additional documents to Mayer Brown.

B. The “RSKO” Plaintiffs

The Plaintiffs represented by Richard Spears Kibbe & Orbe, the “RSKO Plain[634]*634tiffs”3 request that the Court enter an Order detailing the extent of the waiver by the RSKO Plaintiffs. The RSKO Plaintiffs note that three “categories” of documents are affected by their proposed waiver.

(1) communications from any RSKO Plaintiff to DBH;

(2) communications from DBH to any RSKO Plaintiff that did not go jointly to one or more of the other investors;

(3) communications from DBH to any RSKO Plaintiff that did go jointly to one or more of the investors.

The RSKO Plaintiffs agree that they have waived the attorney client privilege with respect to what the RSKO Plaintiffs identify as the first and second categories of documents — that is, communications from RSKO to DBH and communications from DBH to RSKO. The RSKO Plaintiffs express concern with regard to what they identify as the third category of documents — those documents to which a claim of joint privilege with other Plaintiffs apply.

The RSKO Plaintiffs focus on those communications which were made jointly to RSKO Plaintiffs and also to one or more other investors. At oral argument, counsel for the RSKO Plaintiffs noted that these documents consisted of approximately 20 documents. The RSKO Plaintiffs are willing to waive the attorney client privilege, but the RSKO Plaintiffs request a Court Order that defines the scope of the waiver and prohibits the use of the documents for which the RSKO Plaintiffs are waiving their privilege against other Plaintiffs that have not agreed to waive the privilege. The RSKO Plaintiffs express additional concern because some of the documents were addressed to entities which are not parties to the above-captioned lawsuits. The RSKO Plaintiffs do not wish to waive any privileges of other parties.

The RSKO Plaintiffs refer the Court to several cases which have held that, as between joint clients, one parties’ waiver of the attorney client privilege does not effectuate the waiver of another parties’ attorney client privilege. The Court in Interfaith Housing Delaware, Inc. v. Town of Georgetown, 841 F.Supp. 1393, 1402 (D.Del.1994), noted that several commentators have concluded that the waiver by one joint client does not result in the waiver of another joint client.

In discussing the law of privilege, one text observed: “[T]he joint defense doctrine provides only that the privilege is not automatically waived in the case of joint consultations or exchanges of information; each client still retains the right voluntarily to waive the privilege with regard to his confidential communications with his own attorney. Furthermore, despite any commonality of interest that may exist between clients in such situations, a waiver by one does not effect a waiver as to the others’ confidences.” Scott N. Stone & Ronald S. Liebman, Testimonial Privileges, § 1.55 Joint Defense, at 95 (1983). Accord 2 David W. Louisell & Christopher B. Mueller, Federal Evidence, § 210, at 787-88 (1985) (“each client (and of course all together) may invoke the privilege as against third parties”).

Interfaith Housing Delaware, Inc., 841 F.Supp. at 1402. See also Western Fuels Ass’n Inc. v. Burlington Northern R.R. Co., 102 F.R.D. 201, 203 (D.Wyo.1984) (“[Wjaiver of privileges relating to information shared in joint defense communications by one party to such communications will not constitute a waiver by any other party to such communications.”).

The Court concludes that the RSKO Plaintiffs may waive their attorney client privilege without repercussions to the attorney client privilege of other joint clients. The Court additionally concludes that, based on the facts of this case, the RSKO Plaintiffs have waived their privilege, to the extent discussed below, and orders the documents produced. The Court concludes with respect to the joint client waiver issue, that the waiver of the attorney client privilege by the RSKO Plaintiffs and the production of documents by the RSKO Plaintiffs does not operate as a blanket waiver with regard to privileges of other joint clients.

[635]*635II. RELIANCE BY PLAINTIFFS ON INVESTMENT COUNSEL RESULTS IN LIMITED WAIVER OF ATTORNEY CLIENT PRIVILEGE

The two remaining Plaintiffs groups, the “MPF Plaintiffs” and the “AUSA Plaintiffs” each assert that the attorney client privilege has not been waived by their respective Plaintiffs.4

The MPF Plaintiffs note that DBH served as their counsel solely with respect to the purchase of CFS securities in GREAT-A master trust offering in June 1998.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
223 F.R.D. 631, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18678, 2004 WL 2075167, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-cfs-related-securities-fraud-litigation-oknd-2004.