RICHARD J. GATON, EDWARD STIEFEL AND BLOOD DIAGNOSTICS, INC., PETITIONERS,
v.
HEALTH COALITION, INC., WALTER SHIKANY, AND TERRI SHIKANY, RESPONDENTS

Fla. 3d DCA | 2000-11-01
No. 3D00-2052
Per Curiam
774 So. 2d 59 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (2000) Positive Treatment
Cited by 1 case

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Synopsis

Court denied petition for certiorari challenging orders requiring production of documents to special master for in camera inspection, holding the petition premature because no actual production to third parties had been ordered.


Holding

A petition for writ of certiorari challenging an order requiring production of documents to a special master for in camera inspection is premature when no actual production to third parties has been ordered.


Headnotes

[1] A petition challenging an order requiring production of documents to a special master for in camera inspection is premature when no actual disclosure to third parties has…

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Key Quotes

“[w]hen trade secret privilege is asserted as the basis for resisting production, the trial court must determine whether the requested production constitutes a trade secret; if so, the court must require the party seeking production to show reasonable necessity for the requested materials.”

Court's statement of the proper legal standard for trade secret privilege claims, citing Rare Coin-It, Inc. v. I.J.E., Inc.

Facts & Procedural History

Petitioners sought to withhold documents claimed to be protected trade secrets under Florida's trade secret privilege, asserting they constituted cust…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Petitioners have filed this petition for writ of certiorari seeking an order quashing the trial court’s orders dated June 29, 2000, and July 12, 2000, overruling Petitioners’ exceptions to reports and recommendations of a special master. They have asserted that these orders require production of documents that are protected by the trade secret privilege, section 90.506, Florida Statutes (1999), as the materials constitute customer lists.

As we stated in Rare Coin-It, Inc. v. I.J.E., Inc., 625 So. 2d 1277 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993), “[w]hen trade secret privilege is asserted as the basis for resisting production, the trial court must determine whether the requested production constitutes a trade secret; if so, the court must require the party seeking production to show reasonable necessity for the requested materials. If production is then ordered, the court must set forth its findings.” Id. at 1278-79 (citations omitted). At this point, however, the special master has simply ordered petitioners to produce the documents directly to the special master for an in camera inspection. Because no production has been ordered, this petition is premature and is therefore denied. See Kavanaugh v. Stump, 592 So. 2d 1231, 1232 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992) (holding that the trial court must conduct an evidentiary hearing or an in camera inspection to determine if a trade secret exists, and, if so, to determine the extent of protection necessary to safeguard the trade secret).

Petition for writ of certiorari is denied.


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