Osterneck v. E. T. Barwick Industries, Inc.

82 F.R.D. 81, 28 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 122, 1979 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13528
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Georgia
DecidedMarch 23, 1979
DocketCiv. A. No. C75-1728
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 82 F.R.D. 81 (Osterneck v. E. T. Barwick Industries, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Osterneck v. E. T. Barwick Industries, Inc., 82 F.R.D. 81, 28 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 122, 1979 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13528 (N.D. Ga. 1979).

Opinion

ORDER

HAROLD L. MURPHY, District Judge.

This action arises from the merger of Cavalier Bag Company, Inc. into a subsidiary of The Barwick Corporation. The complaint alleges violations of the federal securities laws and the common law of Georgia. Jurisdiction is invoked pursuant to § 27 of the Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C. § 78aa, and the principles of pendent and ancillary jurisdiction. Presently pending before the Court is plaintiff’s motion for an order directing compliance with subpoenas for deposition testimony and production of documents.

In order to understand the motion now before the Court some background information is necessary. In August of 1976, the Securities and Exchange Commission (Hereinafter “SEC”) commenced an action against E. T. Barwick Industries, Inc. (Hereinafter “Barwick”) and certain of its officers and directors alleging that various financial statements issued by Barwick during the period from 1968 through 1976 were materially false and misleading in violation of the federal securities laws. That litigation was terminated by the execution of a Consent and Undertaking agreement between Barwick and the SEC (attached as Appendix A). The Consent and Undertaking was incorporated into and made a part of a Final Judgment of Permanent Injunction against Barwick and others, including some of the individual defendants in this action (attached as Appendix B).

In paragraph seven of the Consent and Undertaking Barwick agreed that its Board of Directors would appoint a Special Review Committee (Hereinafter “SRC”), “to investigate and report to the full Board of Directors on the matters alleged in the [83]*83[SEC’s] Complaint and with respect to all other relevant matters.” The report was to be turned over not only to the Board of Directors, but to the SEC and Barwick’s stockholders as well.

The Consent and Undertaking also provided that the SRC would appoint an individual, subject to SEC approval, to act as Special Counsel to the SRC. In September of 1976, W. Homer Drake, Jr. of the law firm of Swift, Currie, McGhee & Hiers was nominated by the Board of Directors to serve as Special Counsel. By letter dated October 19,1976, the SEC stated that it had no objection to the appointment. W. Homer Drake, Jr. and his law partner, J. Alexander Porter assisted in the investigation and preparation of the SRC’s report from October 19, 1976 through December 31, 1977.

The SRC' prepared and submitted two documents to the Board of Directors which constituted their report. The Report of the Special Review Committee, dated September 28, 1977, was joined by a supplemental report dated December 31, 1977.

On October 20, 1978, the plaintiffs caused to be issued subpoenas to W. Homer Drake, Jr., and J. Alexander Porter for deposition testimony and production of documents. In addition to commanding their appearance for deposition purposes, the subpoenas directed the Special Counsel1 to bring with them:

All books, records and other documents, of whatever kind or description, whether in draft or final form, including, but not limited to, transcripts, memorandums, notes, summaries and other written records and recordings of any conferences, meetings, visits or telephone calls compiled or otherwise obtained by you, or anyone acting on your behalf, while you were acting as Special Counsel to the Special Review Committee of the Board of Directors of E. T. Barwick Industries, Inc. or while you were acting in any other capacity for E. T. Barwick Industries, Inc.

In response Messrs. Drake and Porter as well as former members of the SRC filed an “Objection to Inspection or Copying of Documents”. The Court will presume that these objections also relate to the deposition testimony to be elicited from the Special Counsel. The parties are advised that the Court’s determination on the question of document inspection and production will also apply to similar objections raised to questions propounded at the depositions. In this way delay caused by duplicative motions and objections may be avoided.

1. The primary objection to the subpoena by the parties opposing the motion is that the evidence requested is protected by the attorney-client privilege. It is their position, and the Court does not doubt it, that any privilege which originally attached to communications by Barwick’s officers, directors, employees or agents was not lost through their cooperation with the SRC or with the Special Counsel. Paragraph fifteen of the Consent and Undertaking stated expressly that:

The furnishing of information, documents or materials to the Special Committee and the Special Counsel pursuant to Paragraph IX of the FINAL JUDGMENT OF PERMANENT INJUNCTION shall not be deemed to be a waiver of any privilege which may have previously attached to said information, documents or materials.

Furthermore, the Final Judgment expressly provided for the release of any privileged information and documentation to the SEC only upon a judicial determination that the SEC’s access to said documents or information did not constitute a waiver of any privilege.

Both the defendant corporation and the non-party witnesses argue that the Special Counsel’s role was that of rendering legal advice to the SRC and through it to Bar-wick’s Board of Directors. Particular reliance is placed on paragraph eleven of the [84]*84Consent and Undertaking instructing the SRC to include in its recommendation, “a consideration of whether or not any former or present [Barwick] director or officer is or should be held accountable to [Barwick] for any sum of money in connection with this matter.” The parties also argue that advice rendered by the Special Counsel relating to proposed accounting and auditing controls constitutes legal advice as defined in Diversified Industries, Inc. v. Meredith, 572 F.2d 596 (8th Cir. 1977) [Hereinafter “Diversified”].

The plaintiffs argue that the present circumstances resemble those faced by the District Court for the District of Columbia in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Canadian Javelin, 451 F.Supp. 594 (D.D.C. 1978) [Hereinafter “Javelin”]. In that case an attorney was appointed as special counsel to a standing committee on compliance to monitor the corporate defendant’s compliance with an injunction obtained against it by the SEC in a related proceeding. The district court held that no attorney-client privilege existed between Javelin and the Special Counsel because the latter was not retained to render legal advice, but rather to report to the SEC on Javelin’s compliance. Thus the court held that there could be no expectation of confidentiality or privilege. In that case the special counsel was required to disclose the requested information. Javelin at 596.

Diversified, relied on by the objectors, presents a somewhat different situation. Several years before the commencement of the case cited, Diversified Industries, Inc. became engaged in litigation involving a “proxy fight”. During that litigation information came to light that the corporation had maintained a “slush fund” allegedly used for illegal purposes. Although that litigation was settled amicably, the corporation’s Board of Directors concluded that an investigation into the company’s business practices was needed. In the spring of 1975 a law firm was retained to make that investigation and report to the board. Diversified

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Bluebook (online)
82 F.R.D. 81, 28 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 122, 1979 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13528, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/osterneck-v-e-t-barwick-industries-inc-gand-1979.