Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.) Inc. v. Puerto Rico Water Resources Authority

79 F.R.D. 72, 26 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 365, 1978 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17424
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedJune 2, 1978
DocketCiv. No. 76-1393
StatusPublished
Cited by32 cases

This text of 79 F.R.D. 72 (Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.) Inc. v. Puerto Rico Water Resources Authority) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Puerto Rico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.) Inc. v. Puerto Rico Water Resources Authority, 79 F.R.D. 72, 26 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 365, 1978 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17424 (prd 1978).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

TOLEDO, Chief Judge.

This case involves a claim for Thirty Million Dollars for losses and for damages allegedly suffered by plaintiff due to defendant’s breach of contract. It is now before the Court a motion for a protective order filed by plaintiff’s New York accountants upon a notice of deposition and production of documents served on them by defendant and defendant’s motion to compel the plaintiff to produce its tax returns and other tax [74]*74related documents in the possession of its New York accountants. Extensive memoranda have been filed by both parties and non-party, Haskins & Sells, after which the matter stands submitted for decision.

On June 20, 1970, Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.) Inc. (“Mitsui”), entered into a contract with Puerto Rico Water Resources Authority, (“PRWRA”), for the construction of a Steam Electric Station in Puerto Rico, (“Aguirre Project”). Subsequently, Mitsui allegedly assigned this contract, on a commission basis to Mitsui & Co., Ltd., which in turn, subcontracted to Taihei Dengyo Kaisha, Ltd. the actual construction of the Aguirre Station. The completion of this project took several years after which this action was brought.

Discovery is already underway. The success achieved at this stage of the proceedings would be the keystone for a just and speedy resolution of this case.

On February 28, 1978, Mr. James K. McConville, the Assistant Treasurer and Assistant Manager of the Tax Department of Mitsui, was deposed by PRWRA in New York. During the deposition, Mr. McConville testified that their profits, if any, on the Aguirre Project, were based upon the anticipated cost of materials and supplies and would not be affected by the cost of construction, (Tr. p. 179). Mr. McConville claimed ignorance of the alleged assignment of the construction contract to Mitsui & Co., Ltd. and that they would receive a commission on the sale, (Tr. p. 65). Mr. McConville stated that he was unable to testify concerning the method of preparing Mitsui’s balance sheets but that their accountants would be able to explain the computation, (Tr. p. 143). He stated that he was also unable to testify as to whether Mitsui reported profits or losses on the Aguirre Project in their tax returns. Mr. McConville testified that he was the liaison between Mitsui and Haskins & Sells, and that the members of Haskins & Sells most intimately involved with the taxation and accounting aspects of the Aguirre Project were located now and during the entire period in New York, (Tr. pp. 42, 143). Mr. McConville identified Messrs. Donald P. Kipp, Jr., Frank H. Tiedemann and Seymour F. Bernstein, New York accountants, partners of Haskins & Sells’ New York office, as the individuals most familiar with the tax and accounting arrangements for the Aguirre Project.

As a result of this disposition, PRWRA requested from Mitsui the production of their income tax returns, both United States and Puerto Rico, for the Years 1970 through 1976. Mitsui refused to produce said documents or execute a waiver of production of tax related documents in the possession of their New York accountants as required by Section 301.7216-3 of the Internal Revenue Regulation.

Defendant further served upon Messrs. Donald P. Kipp, Jr., Frank H. Tiedemann and Seymour F. Bernstein (hereinafter referred to as “Haskins & Sells”), of Haskins & Sells’ New York Office, notice of oral depositions to be held in New York and were directed to bring with them

“. . . all documents relating or referring to accounting and/or taxation treatment, methods, procedures, calculations and/or handling, proposed or actually used in connection with Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc.’s construction contract with the Puerto Rico Water Resources Authority for construction of the Aguirre Project, covering the period from January 1st, 1970 to the present.”

After informal objections to the production of tax related documents, Haskins & Sells finally filed, on April 13, 1978, a motion for protective order and notice of objections to the scope of the proposed discovery. They objected to the oral depositions and production of documents on the following grounds: (1) the information requested is privileged under the provisions of Section 19 of Puerto Rico’s Public Accountancy Act of 1945, Title 20, L.P.R.A., Section 790; (2) they are barred from disclosing the information requested by Section 7216 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 and Section 301.7216 of the regulations thereunder and, moreon, (3) the request for production of documents is overbroad, un[75]*75duly oppressive and patently irrelevant and immaterial.

PRWRA opposed Haskins & Sells’ request for protective order alleging that: (1) Puerto Rico accountants’ privilege statute is not applicable to communications held by New York accountants with New York clients in New York; (2) Section 7216 of the Internal Revenue Code allows their disclosure upon an order of the Court; and (3) further, because the subpoena duces tecum is sufficiently specific, is not burdensome or oppressive and although a non-party deponent may not object to a subpoena duces tecum on grounds of relevancy, the documents requested are relevant.

Mitsui further objected to the request for production of its income tax returns because PRWRA had failed to show (1) a compelling need for its disclosure, and (2) that the tax returns would reflect relevant information not reasonably obtainable from other sources.

The issues raised by these two motions could be resumed in two, as follows: the applicability of Puerto Rico accountants’ privilege statute to the communications sought to be disclosed, and disclosure of these communications, documents and income tax returns under Section 7216 of the Internal Revenue Code.

APPLICABILITY OF PUERTO RICO ACCOUNTANTS PRIVILEGE STATUTE TO THE DEPOSITIONS HEREIN ANNOUNCED:—

Defendant herein seeks to obtain by deposing plaintiff’s New York accountants, all documents and communications in relation to the accounting and/or taxation treatment used in connection with the construction contract of the Aguirre Project.

Messrs. Kipp, Tiedemann and Bernstein are all certified public accountants according to the laws of the State of New York, and have been at all times pertinent herein practicing their profession as members of Haskins & Sells’ New York Office in New York. Plaintiff is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of New York with principal place of business in New York. The accounting and taxation matters of Mitsui have been handled in New York by the above named public accountants and Mr. McConville from Mitsui’s offices in New York. Therefore, all of the documents and communications sought to be disclosed herein occurred and were executed in New York. The deposition of these three New York accountants would be held in New York. New York does not recognize an accountant-client’s privilege. Puerto Rico does have one embodied within the government’s regulation of the public accountant profession.1 This case is before this Court due to the diversity of citizenship of the parties.

It is well settled that under the diversity of citizenship jurisdiction of this Court, we are bound to apply the substantive law of the state where we sit. Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64, 58 S.Ct. 817, 82 L.Ed. 1188 (1938).

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Bluebook (online)
79 F.R.D. 72, 26 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 365, 1978 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17424, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mitsui-co-usa-inc-v-puerto-rico-water-resources-authority-prd-1978.