SUZANNE S. COLEMAN, PETITIONER,
v.
RICHARD PRIMEAU, RESPONDENT
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.
In a dissolution of marriage action, the court grants certiorari review and quashes an order requiring disclosure of privileged attorney-client communications between the wife and her former attorney regarding an antenuptial agreement. The court holds that merely listing the attorney as a witness does not constitute waiver of the privilege over all documents, though the trial court may require detailed disclosure of which documents will be used at trial.
The court holds that merely listing a former attorney as a witness and referencing attorney communications on a pretrial statement does not constitute a waiver of attorney-client privilege over all privileged documents in the attorney's file. A party may introduce non-privileged documents and have the attorney testify without waiving privilege as to other privileged communications.
[1] Listing non-privileged documents from an attorney's file on a witness or exhibit list does not waive the attorney-client privilege as to other privileged documents.
[2] A party may choose to introduce non-privileged documents and have their former attorney testify concerning them without waiving the privilege for other communications.
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“the wife certainly may choose to introduce and have her former attorney testify concerning non-privileged documents from the attorney's file without waiving her privilege as to other privileged documents”
Establishes that selective use of non-privileged attorney communications does not waive privilege over other privileged documents
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceIn a dissolution of marriage case, the respondent sought discovery of written communications between the petitioner and her former attorney concerning…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Privileged Communications cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
In this dissolution of marriage action, Petitioner seeks certiorari review of an order compelling her to disclose to Respondent written communications from Petitioner to her former attorney relating to the parties’ antenuptial agreement, the construction and interpretation of which are at issue in the dissolution, and permitting the attorney to be deposed concerning those documents.
Although the trial court determined that the documents in question were not privileged after in camera inspection, the wife has provided this court with those documents under seal, and they appear to be privileged. The husband suggests the wife’s listing the former attorney and the attorney’s records custodian on her witness list and listing correspondence between the wife and her former attorney generally on her exhibit list in the wife’s pretrial statement constituted a waiver of the documents in question under Savino v. Luciano, 92 So. 2d 817, 819 (Fla.1957) (holding defendant’s reliance on audit for defense waived accountant-client privilege as to audit during discovery). However, the wife certainly may choose to introduce and have her former attorney testify concerning non-privileged documents from the attorney’s file without waiving her privilege as to other privileged documents. Cf. Cuillo v. Guillo, 621 So. 2d 460 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993).
Accordingly, we grant the petition and quash that portion of the order on review which requires disclosure of the sealed documents and the deposition of the attorney insofar as it concerns privileged communications concerning them. Nevertheless, the court may require the wife to submit a more detailed pretrial statement specifically identifying those documents, whether otherwise privileged or not, which she intends to use as exhibits or have witnesses rely upon in testifying at trial, and may prohibit her from utilizing at trial any which are not disclosed to the husband during discovery. The court may also restrict counsel from testifying as to any communications with respect to which a privilege has been claimed.
Nothing contained herein shall be construed as restricting further inquiry, or entry of enforcement orders, concerning disclosure of counsel’s proposed testimony. Additionally, as the primary issue in question was initially raised by Petitioner, this opinion shall not be construed as restricting further in camera review at such time that the nature of counsel’s direct testimony is disclosed.
STONE, C.J., and POLEN and PARIENTE, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
First Union Nat'l Bank OF Fla. v. Whitener, 715 So. 2d 979 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998)…The trustee, while voluntarily disclosing the Cooper letters, specified that this production should not be construed as a waiver of the attorney-client privilege, thereby evincing its intent to otherwise claim the privilege. Cfi Coleman v. Primean, 698 So. 2d 356 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997). We accordingly quash the appealed order. On remand, the lower court must fashion relief that will minimize prejudice caused by the error in turning the documents over to respondent. If respondent has a viable subject matter wai…
-
Smith v. Smith, 764 So. 2d 650 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000)…ee, much less to examine a client’s confidential file. The trial court of course is free to conduct an in camera review of the petition [*652] er’s client file if the court’s review of Levin’s time records suggests the need. See Coleman v. Primeau, 698 So. 2d 356, 357 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997) (“this opinion shall not be construed as restricting further in camera review”) (granting, in a dissolution action, a petition for writ of certiorari to review the trial court’s discovery order despite a claim of attorney-cl…
Authorities Cited
- Savino v. Janies Luciano, 92 So. 2d 817 (Fla. 1957)
- Canty v. State, 621 So. 2d 460 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993)