CITY OF MELBOURNE, FLORIDA, A MUNICIPAL CORPORATION, PETITIONER,
v.
A.T.S. MELBOURNE, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, RESPONDENT

Fla. 5th DCA | 1985-09-05
No. 85-738
ORFINGER and COWART, JJ., concur.
475 So. 2d 270 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (1985)

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

The City of Melbourne sought a writ of certiorari to prevent its attorney from being deposed by A.T.S. Melbourne, Inc. in an action seeking to enjoin operation of a topless bar. The court held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the deposition, provided it was limited by the statutory exemption for attorney-prepared litigation files under Florida Statute section 119.07(3)(o).


Holding

The court held that no abuse of discretion occurred. The trial court properly allowed the deposition but correctly limited its scope to section 119.07(3)(o), which provides an exemption from public disclosure for attorney-prepared litigation files during the pendency of litigation.


Headnotes

[1] A writ of common law certiorari is appropriate to review an order requiring a public entity's attorney to appear at deposition.

[2] A trial court does not abuse its discretion by permitting the deposition of a public entity's attorney when the scope of the deposition is limited by statute.

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Key Quotes

“At issue is whether the trial court below violated the essential requirements of the law in exercising its discretion permitting respondent to depose the petitioner's attorney at the outset of the discovery process. We hold that no abuse of discretion has been shown and we deny the petition.”

States the core issue and the court's holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion

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Facts & Procedural History

The City of Melbourne filed an action to enjoin A.T.S. Melbourne, Inc. from operating a topless bar. A.T.S. served an amended notice of deposition req…

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Opinion of the Court
DAUKSCH, Judge.

DAUKSCH, Judge.

Petitioner, City of Melbourne, seeks a writ of common law certiorari to review an order requiring the City’s attorney to appear at deposition. The City is the plaintiff in an action to enjoin the operation of a topless bar owned and operated by respondent, A.T.S. Melbourne, Inc. An amended notice of taking deposition was filed which requested that the deponent produce certain notes, memoranda, and correspondence between the City’s attorney and the City of Melbourne respecting the enactment of two ordinances or relating to the pending litigation between the City and A.T.S. Melbourne, Inc. d/b/a Three Doll House IV filed in the Fifth District Court of Appeal. The City filed a motion for protective order or in the alternative a motion to quash subpoena ducas tecum for deposition. The trial court, after hearing arguments from counsel, entered an order denying petitioner’s motions and ordered petitioner’s attorney to appear at deposition. The order noted, however, that the scope of deposition shall be bound and contained within section 119.07(3)(o), Florida Statutes (Supp. 1984).

At issue is whether the trial court below violated the essential requirements of the law in exercising its discretion permitting respondent to depose the petitioner’s attorney at the outset of the discovery process. We hold that no abuse of discretion has been shown and we deny the petition.

Prior to the enactment of section 119.-07(3)(o), Florida Statutes (Supp.1984), courts did not recognize the attorney/ client privilege between an attorney and a public entity in light of the statutory requirement that public records be open. §§ 119.01-119.12, Fla.Stat.; see also City of North Miami v. Miami Herald, 468 So. 2d 218 (Fla.1985); Brevard County v. Nash, 468 So. 2d 240 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985); Miami Herald v. City of North Miami, 452 So. 2d 572 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984); Neu v. Miami Herald Publishing Co., 462 So. 2d 821 (Fla.1985); Edelstein v. Donner, 450 So. 2d 562 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984). Effective October 1, 1984, however, the legislature amended Chapter 119 to provide an exemption from public disclosure attorney-prepared litigation files during the pendency of litigation.1

In the case at bar, the trial judge limited its order denying petitioner’s motion for protective order by providing that the scope of the deposition shall be bound by section 119.07(3)(o). This is precisely what the law requires. See City of North Miami.

Petition denied.

ORFINGER and COWART, JJ., concur. . Section 119.07(3)(o) provides:

(o) A public record which was prepared by an agency attorney (including an attorney employed or retained by the agency or employed or retained by another public officer or agency to protect or represent the interest of the agency having custody of the record) or prepared at the attorney’s express direction, which reflects a mental impression, conclusion, litigation strategy or legal theory of the attorney or the agency, and which was prepared exclusively for civil or criminal litigation or for adversarial administrative proceedings, or which was prepared in anticipation of imminent civil or criminal litigation or imminent adversarial administrative proceedings, is exempt from the provision of subsection (1) until the conclusion of the litigation or adversarial administrative proceeding. When asserting the right to withhold public record pursuant to this paragraph, the agency shall identify the potential parties to such criminal or civil litigation or adversarial administrative proceedings. If a court finds that the document or other record has been improperly withheld under this paragraph, the party seeking access to such document or record shall be awarded reasonable attorney’s fees and costs in addition to any other remedy ordered by the court.

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