in Re Union Pacific Railroad Company

Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided October 27, 2015·No. 01-15-00918-CV·Published

Opinion

ACCEPTED 01-15-00918-CV FIRST COURT OF APPEALS HOUSTON, TEXAS 10/27/2015 4:57:39 PM CHRISTOPHER PRINE CLERK

NO. 01-15-________-CV

FILED IN 1st COURT OF APPEALS IN THE COURT OF APPEALS HOUSTON, TEXAS 10/27/2015 4:57:39 PM FOR THE FIRST DISTRICT OF TEXASCHRISTOPHER A. PRINE Clerk AT HOUSTON

In re:

UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY,

Relator.

EMERGENCY MOTION FOR STAY DURING PENDENCY OF MANDAMUS (Seeking Relief by 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 28)

HAYNES AND BOONE, LLP KANE RUSSELL COLEMAN & LOGAN PC

Kent Rutter Marcy Lynn Rothman State Bar No. 00797364 State Bar No. 17318500 Christina Crozier M. Daniel Guerra State Bar No. 24050466 State Bar No. 00793865 Andrew Guthrie 5051 Westheimer Road, 10th Floor State Bar No. 24078606 Houston, Texas 77056 1221 McKinney, Suite 2100 Telephone: (713) 425-7444 Houston, Texas 77010-2007 Telecopier: (713) 425-7700 Telephone: (713) 547-2000 MRothman@krcl.com Telecopier: (713) 547-2600 DGuerra@krcl.com Kent.Rutter@haynesboone.com Christina.Crozier@haynesboone.com Andrew.Guthrie@haynesboone.com

ATTORNEYS FOR RELATOR, UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY TO THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS:

Contemporaneously with this motion, Relator Union Pacific Railroad

Company (“Union Pacific”) is filing a Petition for Writ of Mandamus. Union

Pacific seeks relief from the trial court’s order compelling the “immediate”

production of attorney-client communications. (See MR:264-65; App. A.1)

Accordingly, pursuant to Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 52.10, Union Pacific

files this emergency motion and asks this Court to stay the trial court’s order while

its Petition for Writ of Mandamus is pending before this Court.

Union Pacific respectfully requests relief on this motion no later 11:00 a.m.

on Wednesday, October 28 because the order requires “immediate” compliance

and because Defendant Jeremy Hampton is set to be deposed two hours later, at

1:00 p.m. on October 28. Union Pacific has attempted to obtain the Trichels’

consent to a short stay while this Court considers this motion, but the Trichels did

not respond. (App. C.)

1 Union Pacific learned of the trial court’s ruling during a phone call with the clerk around lunchtime on October 27, 2015. (MR:264.) The call ended with instructions that the Trichels submit a proposed order, which is attached as Appendix Tab A. (MR.265.) Union Pacific will file a supplement to the Mandamus Record as soon as it receives the signed order, but files this motion and petition now given the Court’s order for immediate production.

-1- BACKGROUND

I. The underlying case arises from a vehicular accident.

The underlying case arises out of a collision that occurred on April 15, 2014,

between a Ford Mustang driven by Nicholas Trichel and a tractor-trailer rig leased

by Union Pacific and driven by Jeremy Ray Hampton. (MR:1-2.2) Trichel suffered

significant injuries in the accident. (MR:2.) Nicholas Trichel’s parents, Donald and

Mary Trichel, filed the underlying lawsuit, alleging that Hampton and Union

Pacific were negligent, grossly negligent, and negligent per se. (MR:1, 3-4.)

II. Union Pacific immediately engaged outside counsel to conduct interviews and provide legal advice about possible litigation.

On the day of the accident, Union Pacific engaged Marcy Rothman of the

law firm Kane Russell Coleman & Logan PC to provide legal advice in connection

with the accident. (MR:120.) Given the nature of the incident, Union Pacific

already anticipated a possible lawsuit. (MR:108, 115-16.)3 In fact, two of its

employees—Hampton and James Wilson (who was driving along in another

tractor-trailer)—had either been issued citations at the scene or read their Miranda

rights by Corporal James Talbert. (MR:108, 120.) Rothman was therefore engaged

2 Union Pacific will cite to the Appendix as (App. [Tab #]) and the Mandamus Record as (MR:[page]). 3 This belief was confirmed when Union Pacific received a letter—dated two days after the accident—in which the Trichels noted their intent to pursue litigation. (MR:113.)

-2- by Union Pacific to provide legal advice for issues arising out of the accident,

including possible criminal charges. (MR:120.)

Two days later, Rothman met with Hampton and Wilson to discuss the

accident so that she could better understand their impressions of how it occurred.

(MR:115-16, 120.) Rothman was joined by William J. Green, Director of Claims

for Union Pacific, who was assisting in the investigation as a representative of

Union Pacific’s in-house counsel. (MR:115-16, 120.) Rothman directed Green to

take the lead in conducting the interviews, asking Hampton and Wilson to provide

their accounts of the events surrounding the accident in her presence so that she

could hear their first-hand recollections. (MR:115-16, 120.) Green also tape

recorded the interviews. (MR:115.)

Recently, in the course of preparing for his deposition, Green realized that

the recorded interviews had never been provided to Rothman, Union Pacific’s

litigation counsel.4 (MR:115-16.) He notified Rothman and provided her with a

copy of the statements on October 20, 2015. (MR:115-16.) Two days later, out of

an abundance of caution and a show of good faith, Rothman voluntarily disclosed

the existence of the recorded interviews to counsel for the Trichels, asserted that

4 Initially, Rothman was engaged to represent Union Pacific and its employees (including Hampton and possibly Wilson) in connection with any possible litigation arising out of the accident. (MR:115, 120.) However, Hampton has since engaged separate counsel and Wilson was not sued; Rothman now represents only Union Pacific.

-3- they were privileged, and produced a supplemental privilege log. (MR:122, 124-

27.)

III. The trial court ruled that the recorded interviews between Union Pacific’s employees and its litigation counsel were not privileged and ordered them immediately disclosed.

At a hearing on October 23, 2015, the Trichels demanded that Union Pacific

produce the recorded interviews. (MR:264; Supp.MR.5) While they argued that the

interviews were not protected by the attorney-client privilege, they also lobbed

allegations that Union Pacific had intentionally concealed the recordings—despite

the fact that Union Pacific voluntarily disclosed their existence immediately after

the recordings were brought to the attention of its counsel. (Supp.MR; MR:128;

see also MR:115-16, 124-27.) Union Pacific resisted the demand for production. It

argued that the statements are unquestionably privileged as confidential

communications between and among Union Pacific employees and its outside

litigation counsel that occurred in anticipation of this very litigation. (MR:43.)

Moreover, Union Pacific argued that it had no duty to notify the Trichels about the

existence of the interviews in the first place, but did so in good faith and out of an

abundance of caution. (MR:43.)

5 The transcript from the October 23, 2015 hearing is not yet available, but Union Pacific intends to file a supplement to the mandamus record as soon as it receives the transcript. For the time being, Union Pacific will reference that transcript as “Supp.MR.”

-4- Judge Kyle Carter asked to review a transcript of the recorded interviews in

camera. (MR:264; Supp.MR) After doing so, and hearing arguments from both

sides, the trial court ruled on October 27, 2015 that the statements should be

immediately produced. (See MR:264-65; App. A.)

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