ORANGE PARK CHRISTIAN ACADEMY, ETC., PETITIONER,
v.
SUSAN RUSSELL, AS MOTHER OF ROZENA BRUNI, RESPONDENT
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The court granted certiorari and quashed the trial court's order compelling disclosure of school documents regarding a motor vehicle incident, holding that the documents constitute privileged work product created in anticipation of litigation.
Documents created by school personnel in anticipation of litigation are protected work product and need not be disclosed absent a showing that the requesting party needs them and cannot obtain substantially the same information without undue hardship.
[1] Documents prepared by school personnel in anticipation of litigation are protected as work product and need not be disclosed without a showing that the requesting party n…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The documents created in anticipation of litigation are privileged pursuant to the work product doctrine because it was foreseeable that litigation might ensue from the incident.”
Court's explanation of why the documents qualify for work product protection
A minor daughter of Susan Russell was struck by a motor vehicle while allegedly under the supervision of Orange Park Christian Academy. The school's t…
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PER CURIAM.
Petitioner, Orange Park Assembly of God, doing business as Orange Park Christian Academy, seeks certiorari review of the trial court’s order compelling disclosure of a report produced by a teacher at the school and notes and memoranda prepared by the school’s principal regarding an incident during which the minor daughter of respondent, Susan Russell, was struck by a motor vehicle when petitioner was allegedly responsible for supervising her. Petitioner argues that the trial court departed from the essential requirements of law in ordering disclosure because the documents constitute work product. We agree.
The documents created in anticipation of litigation are privileged pursuant to the work product doctrine because it was foreseeable that litigation might ensue from the incident. See Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Ballasso, 789 So. 2d 519, 520 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001); McRae’s, Inc. v. Moreland, 765 So. 2d 196, 197 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000).
Additionally, both the teacher and principal gave deposition testimony indicating that each had contemplated litigation at the time the documents were prepared. As such, the trial court departed from the essential requirements of law in granting the motion to compel where there was no showing that respondent needs the documents and could not obtain substantially the same information without undue hardship. See Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.280(b)(3). Therefore, we GRANT the petition for writ of certiorari, quash the trial court’s order, and REMAND the cause for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
ERVIN, PADOVANO and LEWIS, JJ., concur.
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Heartland Express, Inc. v. Torres, 90 So. 3d 365 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012)
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Universal City Dev. P'rs, Ltd. v. Pupillo, 54 So. 3d 612 (Fla. 5th DCA 2011)…ared in anticipation of litigation, for example, may be considered substantial, competent evidence and are typically introduced to establish the privilege, but Petitioner presented no evidence of any kind. Cf. Orange Park Christian Acad. v. Russell, 899 So. 2d 1215, 1215 (Fla. 1st DCA 2005) ("[B]oth the teacher and principal gave deposition testimony indicating that each had contemplated litigation at the time the documents were prepared.”); McRae’s, Inc. v. Moreland, 765 So. 2d 196, 197 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000) ("…
Authorities Cited
- McRAE'S, Inc. v. Moreland, 765 So. 2d 196 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000)
- Reggene Williams Robinson v. Conklin Ctr. & Nat'l Grange, 789 So. 2d 519 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001)
- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Ballasso, 789 So. 2d 519 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001)