BRANDSMART AND FCCI INSURANCE GROUP, PETITIONERS,
v.
THOMAS SCHAFFER, RESPONDENT

Fla. 1st DCA | 2003-08-14
No. 1D02-2526
BARFIELD, BROWNING and LEWIS, JJ., CONCUR.
855 So. 2d 145 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (2003) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 cases

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

Petitioners sought certiorari review of a discovery order compelling a non-party Brandsmart employee to answer deposition questions. The court granted the petition in part, quashing requirements that the deponent answer certain personal information questions deemed harassing and irrelevant, while affirming that questions about residence and compensation relationships were appropriately compelled.


Holding

The court granted the petition in part and denied it in part. Questions about residence, compensation relationships, and benefits from the workers' compensation carrier were properly compelled as relevant or reasonably calculated to lead to admissible evidence. However, remaining questions that were not relevant, reasonably calculated to lead to admissible evidence, harassing, and unreasonably intrusive could not be compelled, and the judge of compensation claims failed to analyze the necessity for such discovery in violation of essential legal requirements.


Headnotes

[1] Discovery orders compelling answers to questions that are not relevant or reasonably calculated to lead to admissible evidence, and are harassing and unreasonably intrusi…

[2] A judge of compensation claims must analyze the necessity for requested discovery when faced with objections based on relevance and intrusion.

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

Key Quotes

“It does not appear, however, that the remaining questions posed at the deposition, which the deponent has now been ordered to answer, are relevant or reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. It further appears that these questions were harassing and unreasonably intrusive.”

Establishes the court's rationale for quashing a portion of the discovery order based on lack of relevance and the harassing nature of certain questions.

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

A judge of compensation claims issued an order compelling discovery in a workers' compensation matter. The order required a non-party employee of Bran…

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.


Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Petitioners seek a writ of certiorari to review an order of the judge of compensation claims compelling discovery. We grant the petition for writ of certiorari and quash a portion of the order requiring the deponent, a non-party employee of petitioner Brandsmart, to answer questions involving personal information.

It appears that questions asking the deponent where she lived, whether she received compensation or other benefit depending on the amount of workers’ compensation benefits or premiums paid, and whether she received money from the workers’ compensation carrier, either were necessary to allow claimant to conduct an appropriate investigation of the deponent or were reasonably calculated to lead to discovery of admissible evidence. Accordingly, with regard to those questions, we conclude that the order of the judge of compensation claims does not depart from the essential requirements of law.

It does not appear, however, that the remaining questions posed at the deposition, which the deponent has now been ordered to answer, are relevant or reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. It further appears that these questions were harassing and unreasonably intrusive. Under the circumstances of this particular case, we con- elude that the failure of the judge of compensation claims to analyze the need for the requested discovery was a departure from the essential requirements of law which, if uncorrected, will lead to irreparable harm.1 The matter is remanded for the judge of compensation claims to reconsider the necessity for any additional discovery.2

GRANTED IN PART; DENIED IN PART.

BARFIELD, BROWNING and LEWIS, JJ., CONCUR. . See, e.g., Woodward v. Berkery, 714 So. 2d 1027, 1035 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998)

("The constitution of the State of Florida contains an express right of privacy. Although there is no catalogue in our constitutional provision as to those matters encompassed by the term privacy, it seems apparent to us that personal finances are among those private matters kept secret by most people. ... Private financial worth information is thus usually withheld from the world at large unless the courts compel such disclosure. Even then, disclosure is made only so far as necessary.”)

Alterra Healthcare Corp. v. Estate of Francis Shelley, 827 So. 2d 936 (Fla.2002) (In the context of considering a relevancy objection, the trial court can consider the constitutional rights of third parties who would be substantially affected by the outcome of the litigation. As appropriate, the trial court may conduct an in-camera inspection of the subject records and in that context balance the right to privacy and the right to know.)

. Although the judge of compensation claims did not specifically rule on the motion to compel the deponent to produce her personal tax returns, we note that before ordering production of the tax returns sought, the judge of compensation claims should conduct an in-camera review of the tax returns to ascertain whether the returns contain information relevant to the pending matter. Voytish v. Ozycz, 695 So. 2d 1301 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997).


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Spry v. Professional Employer Plans, 985 So. 2d 1187 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008)
    …s to its relevance. Case law holds that, in considering whether to permit discovery, a judge should consider whether the information sought is relevant or reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. Brandsmart v. Schaffer, 855 So. 2d 145, 146 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003). The relevance of financial information should be determined only after an evidentiary hearing, because “the Florida Constitution protects the financial information of individuals if there is no relevant or [*1189] compellin…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw