Nedrow v. Pa. National Mutual Casualty Insurance

31 Pa. D. & C.3d 456, 1981 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 23
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Somerset County
DecidedNovember 4, 1981
Docketno. 469 Civil 1980
StatusPublished

This text of 31 Pa. D. & C.3d 456 (Nedrow v. Pa. National Mutual Casualty Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Somerset County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Nedrow v. Pa. National Mutual Casualty Insurance, 31 Pa. D. & C.3d 456, 1981 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 23 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1981).

Opinion

SHAULIS, J.,

This case is before the court presently1 on plaintiffs motion for sanctions pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 4019 requesting that defendant be ordered to furnish plaintiff certain materials concerning prior litigation in which plaintiffs interests were allegedly represented by defendant. Plaintiff served defendant with a formal Request for Production and Inspection of Tangible Things pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 4009 and defendant answered by producting parts of the requested information. Defendant withheld, however, a significant portion of the requested materials basing the nondisclosure on what defendant termed “privilege.” This motion is an attempt to force defendant to produce those items it considers privileged.2

The facts in this case are quite complex and need not be detailed here. However, a short summary is essential. Plaintiff was sued in two actions in the Federal District Court of Western Pennsylvania in 1975. These cases were consolidated for trial and defendant here, plaintiffs insurance company, de[458]*458fended those actions. Allegedly, during the trial, plaintiff in those cases stated he would accept as a settlement, the maximum amount recoverable under the insurance policy, which was $25,000. Defendant refused to settle and the jury returned a verdict against plaintiff in the amount of $213,493, greatly in excess of the policy limits. Plaintiff now is suing defendant alleging that defendant breached its fiduciary duty to its insured and subsequently represented plaintiff in bad faith. This motion seeks to obtain discovery of materials which would indicate why, inter alia, defendant refused to settle the claim for the policy limits.

In support of its refusal to disclose certain information defendant puts forth two arguments, both under the rubric of “privilege. ” Initially, defendant asserts that the attorney representing it was not, during the lawsuit and in preparation therefor, representing plaintiff. Thus, defendant argues, the communications between it and its attorney in the prior action are covered by the attorney-client privilege. Secondly, defendant avers that materials accumulated by or prepared by the attorney during the litigation, are the work product of the attorney and, consequently, not subject to discovery. In the present case, both arguments are unfounded.

It is a well settled principle in Pennsylvania that when an insurance company undertakes the defense of a claim against its insured, it and the attorney employed by it represent the insured himself. A fiduciary relationship is created and the insurance company must act in good faith and with due care in representing the interests of the policyholder. Also, where counsel represents both sides to a transaction or two parties in a transaction, no privilege exists to withhold communications made by coun[459]*459sel to either client, when a dispute arises between the clients. Loutzenhiser v. Doddo, 436 Pa. 512, 519, 260 A.2d 745; 748 (1970); Tracy v. Tracy, 377 Pa. 420, 424, 105 A.2d 122; 125 (1954). Thus, in this case, when the insurance company undertook to defend the claim, counsel represented both the insurance company and the insured, and thus now no attorney-client privilege exists and the desired material is not protected on that ground.

Regarding defendant’s argument that the information is protected from discovery because it is the work product of the attorney, the new Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure deal precisely with the issue before us. Rule 4003.3, which became effective April 16, 1979, concerns the scope of discovery of material prepared in anticipation of litigation or trial.3 It expressly prohibits discovery of an attorney’s mental impressions, his conclusions, opinions, memoranda, notes or summaries, legal research or legal theories. However, in the explanatory note to the rule, the commentators advise that there are situations where this information is discoverable. Spe[460]*460cifically, it states that where a legal opinion of an attorney as to the value or merit of a claim becomes a relevant issue in a second action, it is not protected against discovery in that litigation; even though it was not discoverable in the original litigation. The commentators go on to cite as an example of a case wherein discovery of this type of material is permitted, a suit brought against an insurance carrier for unreasonable refusal to settle, resulting in a judgment against the insured in an amount in excess of the insurance coverage. That is the instant case. The basis of the bad faith claim lies in the reasons for defendant’s refusal to settle within the policy limits. Those reasons may very well be found in defendant’s files.

It should be noted that Rule 4003.3 expands greatly the material that may now be discovered. But even under the old rule, Rule 4011, which expressly prohibited discovery of material prepared in anticipation of litigation or trial, the courts were willing, in bad faith representation cases, to permit discovery of material prepared for another trial and an attorney’s opinions and conclusions with respect thereto. See Pile v. Nationwide Mutual Ins. Co., 35 Somerset L.J. 326 (1978); Schultz v. Mt. Vernon Fire Ins. Co., 2 D.&C. 3d 627 (1976); Trzesniowski v. Erie Ins. Exchange, 59 D.&C. 2d 44 (1973).4 It is our conclusion that if discovery, in cases like these, was permitted under the older, more restrictive rule, it is permitted today under the newer, more expansive rule.

[461]*461Our search of the law has uncovered only two cases which interpret the relevant portion of Rule 4003.3. Harvey v. Whatley, 2 Phila. 433 (1979); and Wills v. Pennsylvania Millers Mutual Ins. Co., Inc., 14 D.&C. 3d 705 (1980).5 Harvey v. Whatley, a bad faith case very similar to the instant one, permitted discovery of opinions in the insurance company’s file made in anticipation of the litigation in which the insurance company allegedly acted in bad faith because such opinions were necessary to prove the claim. However, in Wills v. Millers Mutual, another bad faith case, the court stated that it was improper, under the new rule, to permit discovery of counsel’s recommendations to the insurance company absent a prima facie showing of fraud at either an evidentiary hearing or at trial. In this particular instance, the court concluded in the interest of judicial economy, not to have an evidentiary hearing but to require the proof at trial. The court emphasized that it was not ruling that the information requested would never be discoverable but rather, only that more than mere allegations of fraud were required to order discovery of such a sensitive matter. From our analysis, it is our belief that Harvey v. Whatley more appropriately explains and applies Rule 4003.3, and it is our desire to follow that application. We do, however, acknowledge the sensitivity of the issue and the possibility that within the information requested there may be some material which in some way may be protected. Therefore, we direct, following the advice of the commentators of Rule 4003.3 and Harvey v. Whatley, that the entire file of the insurance company and its attorney regarding [462]*462the prior litigation, be forwarded to the court for an in camera examination and subsequent determination of the materials to be disclosed.6

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Related

Loutzenhiser v. Doddo
260 A.2d 745 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1970)
Tracy v. Tracy
105 A.2d 122 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1954)

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Bluebook (online)
31 Pa. D. & C.3d 456, 1981 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 23, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nedrow-v-pa-national-mutual-casualty-insurance-pactcomplsomers-1981.