TUCCI v. GILEAD SCIENCES, INC.

District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania·Decided October 17, 2023·No. 2:21-cv-01859·Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA BLASE TUCCI, ) ) ) 2:21-CV-1859-NR Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) ) GILEAD SCIENCES, INC., ) ) ) Defendant. )

ORDER Before the Court is Plaintiff Blase Tucci’s motion to compel (ECF 86) Defendant Gilead Sciences to respond to certain written discovery requests and produce witnesses for additional depositions. The Court GRANTS the motion in part and DENIES the motion in part. I. Mr. Tucci’s requests for written discovery. A. Communications to or from Mr. Tucci. Mr. Tucci seeks production of communications between him and in-house counsel for Gilead, which were logged on Gilead’s privilege log. Based on the Court’s review of the privilege log, these documents were appropriately withheld, and so the request is DENIED. The attorney-client privilege applies to corporations and extends to communications between corporate employees (regardless of their position) and counsel when the communications “are kept confidential and when they are made at the behest of counsel and with the goal of furthering counsel’s provision of legal advice to the client, the corporation.” , 39 A.3d 372, 379 (Pa. 2012). Mr. Tucci was an employee of Gilead at the time these communications were made, so communications between him and in-house counsel are privileged. Further, Gilead’s privilege log is detailed enough to allow the Court to determine the privileged nature of the documents, so there is no need for Gilead to produce the communications. , 258 A.3d 451, 465 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2021) (no production required where “privilege logs were precise enough to leave no question as to the applicability of privilege”). Accordingly, Mr. Tucci’s request is denied as to the communications outlined in Exhibit 2.1 B. Documents provided to Gilead. Email attachments. Mr. Tucci seeks production of attachments to emails identified in Gilead’s privilege log. Though an email communication may be privileged, an attachment is not necessarily privileged simply because it was included in the email or because counsel may have reviewed it during a privileged investigation. Gilead may only refuse to provide an attachment if there is an independent basis of privilege over the document. As to the non-privileged email attachments (Exhibit 2, items 42, 43, 55, 67, 113, 218), Mr. Tucci’s request is DENIED as moot, as Gilead says it has produced all non-privileged attachments. ECF 91, p. 6. As to privileged email attachments identified in Exhibit 2, Gilead provided privilege log entries for the attachments identified at items 27, 40, 51, 72, 188, 190, 192, 201, which gave enough detail for the Court to conclude that those documents are privileged. But Gilead failed to do so for items 20, 22, 24, 102, 106, 120, 205, 207. Thus, for items 20, 22, 24, 102, 106, 120, 205, 207, the motion is GRANTED insofar as Gilead must supplement its privilege log. If the privilege log sufficiently reflects

1 Since Gilead is invoking privilege as a “shield” here, it cannot then rely on those communications as a “sword” in a future motion or at trial. , 455 F.3d 195, 222 (3d Cir. 2006) (“[W]e remind the parties that the attorney-client privilege cannot be used as both a ‘shield’ and a ‘sword[.]’”). that an independent basis for the privilege exists for these attachments, then Gilead need not produce them. Otherwise, those documents must be produced. Vendor documents. Mr. Tucci seeks production of communications between Gilead and KPMG. Mr. Tucci’s request is DENIED. Gilead retained KPMG to conduct e-discovery for its investigation into the August 2018 complaint. The Court discerns no reason why Gilead would communicate with KPMG except to assist as an agent of the investigation. That doesn’t destroy the privilege and is otherwise not relevant to any claims or defenses. C. Facts or information provided to Gilead. Privileged communications “contain[ing] facts or non-privileged information.” Mr. Tucci seeks production of the very thing that the attorney-client privilege protects—privileged communications themselves. ECF 72, pp. 4-5 (quoting , 174 F.R.D. 609, 633 (M.D. Pa. 1997)). The privilege does not shield facts from discovery but precludes discovery of those facts via privileged attorney-client communications. The request is DENIED. Memoranda memorializing witness interviews. Mr. Tucci requests production of witness interview memoranda. Memoranda of witness interviews can be discoverable in some cases, depending on whether they are “fact” work product or “opinion” work product.2 The former is discoverable “upon a showing of substantial need and by demonstrating that one cannot otherwise obtain the substantial

2 Though Gilead refers to these documents as seeking communications protected by the attorney-client privilege, the work-product doctrine is likely the more applicable protection. “To qualify as work product, the material must satisfy a three-part test detailed in Rule 26(b)(3). The material must be (1) documents or tangible things, (2) prepared in anticipation of litigation or for trial, (3) by or for another party or by or for that other party's representative. Generally, documents created as part of an internal investigation, such as the one at issue in this case, are considered to be made in anticipation of litigation for the purposes of the work product doctrine.” , No. 13-5555, 2014 WL 5023406, at *6 (E.D. Pa. Oct. 7, 2014) (cleaned up). equivalent of such materials without undue hardship.” , No. 14-272, 2016 WL 6618076, at *3 (M.D. Pa. Nov. 9, 2016) (cleaned up). “Courts have held substantially verbatim witness statements contained in interview memoranda that have not been sharply focused or weeded by an attorney to be fact rather than opinion work product.” , No. 15-4182, 2016 WL 6080908, at *1 (N.D. Ga. Oct. 18, 2016) (cleaned up). Opinion work product, “which consists of mental impressions, conclusions, opinions, or legal theories of an attorney, is afforded almost absolute protection and it is discoverable only upon a showing of rare and exceptional circumstances.” , 2016 WL 6618076, at *3 (cleaned up). “Whether such material is discoverable typically will turn on whether the witness or other party who provided counsel with the factual information is available to be deposed.” Mr. Tucci’s request for these memoranda is DENIED. As reflected in the privilege log, these memoranda are opinion work product, so the heightened standard of need applies. Mr. Tucci has not shown that rare and exceptional circumstances require production of these materials. D. Additional discovery disputes (ECF 92, pp. 14-15). Investigation policies, procedures, and guidelines. Mr. Tucci seeks discovery about the Employee Relations department’s policies, procedures, and guidelines for conducting investigations. Gilead asserts that “investigation guidelines” for the Employee Relations department and Business Conduct Unit are not relevant because they are “not responsible for conducting internal investigations.” The Court infers that Mr. Tucci doesn’t mean an “investigation” in the same sense that in-house counsel would conduct an internal investigation, but believes that these units likely have procedures for understanding complaints and determining information about those complaints in the ordinary course of business, before a formal legal investigation is initiated. That is a reasonable request relevant to Mr. Tucci’s claims. Even so, Gilead says it has turned over these documents, so the request is DENIED. Similar business conduct complaints. Mr. Tucci’s request is DENIED. Gilead represented that there were no other complaints “made about Brian Vautier or Harry Durr” and is unaware of any other documents on this point. ECF 93, p. 5. So Gilead’s discovery obligation about this request is complete.

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TUCCI v. GILEAD SCIENCES, INC., (W.D. Pa. 2023).

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