Woodruff v. American Family Mutual Insurance

291 F.R.D. 239, 85 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 872, 2013 WL 1729403, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56883
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Indiana
DecidedApril 22, 2013
DocketNo. 1:12-cv-00859-TWP-MJD
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 291 F.R.D. 239 (Woodruff v. American Family Mutual Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Woodruff v. American Family Mutual Insurance, 291 F.R.D. 239, 85 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 872, 2013 WL 1729403, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56883 (S.D. Ind. 2013).

Opinion

ORDER ON DEFENDANT’S VERIFIED MOTION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER [DKT. 36]

MARK J. DINSMORE, United States Magistrate Judge.

This matter came before the Court on a Verified Motion for Protective Order filed by Defendant American Family Mutual Insurance Company [Dkt. 36], American Family seeks a protective order to prevent the discovery of its claim file, reserve determinations, as well as the depositions of attorneys Brent Threlkeld, Benjamin Stevenson, and Jeff Bick. Plaintiff, the trustee of Bankruptcy Estate of Jacob Key (herein referred to as the “Estate”), asserts that these documents and deposition testimony are relevant and discoverable. American Family provided copies of the documents withheld from production for in camera review on February 13, 2013. The motion was heard on February 14, 2013.

I. Background

The parties provide a thorough review of attorney-client privilege law and the work product doctrine, as well as the general discovery law in bad faith claims against an insurance company. But the procedural posture of this case and the relationship of the parties vis-a-vis the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine, make the analysis different from a garden variety question of privilege and the cases cited by the parties.

This action results from an underlying lawsuit in Madison County (Indiana) Superior Court that went to trial, a verdict was rendered, and all appeals were exhausted (the “Hamilton Action”). In that action, Dewayne Hamilton alleged that Jacob Key was negligent in waiving John Owens through a line of stopped traffic, which resulted in a vehicle collision between Hamilton and Owens. Key was represented in the underlying lawsuit by Brent Threlkeld and Benjamin Stevenson,1 who were retained by American Family pursuant to an automobile insurance policy.

During the Hamilton Action, Hamilton made a demand for $100,000, apparently believing this to be the insurance policy limit, on May 20, 2009. On January 27, 2010, the parties attended mediation where Hamilton demanded $250,000, the limits of the available insurance policy. After the court denied Key’s motions for summary judgment and for judgment on the evidence, on June 24, 2010, a jury returned a verdict of $990,000 against Key and in favor of Hamilton. The verdict was affirmed by the Indiana Court of Appeals on February 28, 2012.

Key filed for bankruptcy on October 25, 2010. The judgment in favor of Hamilton was included among Key’s debts. On February 2, 2011, the bankruptcy court granted a [241]*241discharge of Key. With approval of the bankruptcy court, the bankruptcy trustee retained Mark Dudley, counsel to plaintiff Hamilton in the Hamilton Action, to serve as the trustee’s counsel in this matter.2

On May 25, 2012, the Estate filed a lawsuit in Marion County, Indiana (which was removed to this Court on June 21, 2012), alleging that American Family’s “conduct is a breach of its duty of good faith” and that American Family “breached its contract with its insured, Key”. [Dkt. 1-1 at ¶¶ 13,' 14.] During discovery, the Estate has requested American Family’s claim file as well as depositions of attorneys for Key and American Family employee, Bick. American Family seeks a protective order to prevent the disclosure of the documents on its Second Amended Privilege Log [Dkt. 43] and the depositions of attorneys Threlkeld, Stevenson, and Bick. The Estate has provided waivers executed by Jacob Key, Ted Brown, and Sally Brown (the defendants in the Hamilton Action) of “any and all privileges previously held by myself in relation to all insurance claim files, attorney-client communications and all other privileged communications in regal’d to the claim made by Dewayne Hamilton arising out of a wreck that occurred on August 11, 2008.” [Dkt. 38-1.]

II. Discussion

Two protections are at issue with respect to the discovery requested of American Family: the attorney-client privilege and the work-product doetrine. Federal Rule of Evidence 501 provides that “[i]n a diversity case where state law provides the substantive rule of decision, privileges are determined in accordance with the applicable state law.” Compton v. Allstate Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., 278 F.R.D. 193, 196-97 (S.D.Ind.2011); Fed. R.Evid. 501. In the absence of argument that another state’s laws apply, and because the car accident and underlying trial oe-eurred in Indiana, the Court will apply Indiana attorney-client privilege law to the issues presented. See Compton, 278 F.R.D. at 197.

The work-product doctrine, on the other hand, is governed by federal law — specifically Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(3). Consequently, the court will apply the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and federal ease law to the attorney work-product issues presented.

Before considering the question of privilege, American Family has raised an objection that several of the documents on its Second Amended Privilege Log are “irrelevant, immaterial and not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence as to any matters raised in this litigation.” The Court will first consider whether the requested information is relevant and reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence relating to a claim or defense in this matter.

A. Relevancy

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure allow for a broad range of discovery. Rule 26(b)(1) provides:

(1) Scope in General. Unless otherwise limited by court order, the scope of discovery is as follows: Parties may obtain discovery regarding any nonprivileged matter that is relevant to any party’s claim or defense — including the existence, description, nature, custody, condition, and location of any documents or other tangible things and the identity and location of persons who know of any discoverable matter. For good cause, the court may order discovery of any matter relevant to the subject matter involved in the action. Relevant information need not be admissible at the trial if the discovery appears reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. All discovery [242]*242is subject to the limitations imposed by Rule 26(b)(2)(C).

Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(1). American Family makes a blanket claim that 79 out of 98 documents on its Second Amended Privilege Log (or 80%) are not relevant to this action. American Family argues these same documents are protected from production by the work-product doctrine because they were created in anticipation of the Hamilton Action. The Court finds this position inconsistent. If the requested documents were created in anticipation of the Hamilton Action, then they are certainly relevant to this action that challenges American Family’s handling of the Hamilton Action.

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291 F.R.D. 239, 85 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 872, 2013 WL 1729403, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56883, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/woodruff-v-american-family-mutual-insurance-insd-2013.