KATHIE Z. SCHLESINGER, PETITIONER,
v.
PAMULA A. SCHLESINGER, RESPONDENT
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Kathie Schlesinger, ex-wife of a decedent, sought to quash a discovery order requiring disclosure of her bank records in an action by Pamula Schlesinger, the decedent's widow, alleging violations of a post-nuptial agreement through gifts to Kathie. The court held that discovery of the ex-wife's personal financial records is premature and prohibited because Pamula has not yet established her entitlement to an accounting or recovery.
The court quashed the discovery order, holding that disclosure of Kathie's personal financial records is premature because Pamula, as co-personal representative, already has full access to the decedent's own records to investigate the alleged violations, and no determination has been made that Pamula is entitled to an accounting or recovery from Kathie.
[1] Discovery of personal financial records is premature until the right to an accounting has been established.
[2] A party with full access to the decedent's financial records and personal documents may not need to pursue discovery of a former spouse's bank records.
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“Pamula as co-personal representative has full access to all of James Schlesinger's bank accounts as well as to all of his personal, business and corporate records from which she may discern if any payments were made to Kathie and whether those payments violated the terms of the post-nuptial agreement.”
Establishes that Pamula's role as co-personal representative provides sufficient means to investigate the alleged violations without accessing Kathie's records
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJames Schlesinger was married to Kathie for over 30 years before their divorce in 2009. He married Pamula in 2009 and entered into a post-nuptial agre…
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Kathie Z. Schlesinger, the former-wife of decedent James Schlesinger, petitions this court to quash an order denying her motion for protective, order to bar discovery of her banks’ records in this action *619brought by Pamula A. Schlesinger against James Schlesinger’s estate. Pamula was married to Schlesinger at the time of his death and claims in this action that he violated the terms of their post-nuptial agreément by making'gifts to Kathie, his former-wife, thereby decreasing the value of that portion of Schlesinger’s estate that by agreement was to ■ pass to Pamula.1
We grant the petition because Pamula as co-personal representative has full access to all of James Schlesinger’s bank accounts as well as to all of his personal, business and corporate records from which she may discern if any payments were made to Kathie and whether those payments violated the terms of the post-nuptial agreement. We also grant the petition because no determination has been made either that Pamula is entitled to an accounting from James Schlesinger’s estate or that she may recover from Kathie any payments made by James Schlesinger to her. Until such time as such determinations have been made, it is premature to allow Pamula to pursue Kathie’s personal financial records. See Spry v. Prof'l Employer Plans, 985 So.2d 1187, 1188 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008) (“Petitioner’s disclosure of the requested information will cause irreparable harm, simply because it is financial information; the Florida Supreme Court has recognized that ‘the disclosure of personal financial information [via discovery] may cause irreparable harm to a person forced to disclose it, in a case in which the information is not relevant.’ Friedman v. Heart Inst. of Port St Lucie, Inc., 863 So.2d 189, 194 (Fla.2003) (citations omitted).”); see also Universal Eng’g Testing Co. v. Israel, 707 So.2d-900, 901 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998) (“Review'by certiorari is appropriate when a discovery order departs from the essential requirements of law, causing material injury to a petitioner throughout the remainder, of the proceedings and effectively leaving no adequate remedy on appeal. Allstate Insurance Co. v. Langston, 655 So.2d 91, 94 (Fla.1995); see also Martin-Johnson, Inc. v. Savage, 509 So.2d 1097, (Fla.1987). In the instant case, we find the trial court abused its discretion by requiring disclosure of confidential and proprietary documents before the ultimate issue of respondent’s stockholder status and her' right to review and inspect those same documents under section 607.1602 has been decided.”); Arthur Finnieston, Inc. v. Pratt, 673 So.2d 560, 562 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996) (confirming that it “is well established that discovery* as to an accounting must be deferred until the preliminary issue of the right to an accounting is settled” (quoting Drs. Wetland, Reiser, Jones, Shufflebarger, Cooper, P.A. v. Tindall, 372 So.2d 505, 506 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979))); Aly Handbags, Inc. v. Rosenfeld, 305 So.2d 56, 57 (Fla. 3d DCA 1974) (“It is a fundamental principle in a suit for an accounting that when issues are raised as to the necessity and scope of an accounting, the court must first determine that the moving party is entitled to" an accounting before such order is entered.”); G.H. Crawford Co. Fin. Servs. v. Goch, 292 So.2d 54, 55 (Fla. 3d DCA 1974) (“[Discovery as to an accounting must be deferred until the preliminary issue of the right to the accounting is settled.”).
*620Relying on these basic principles, we grant the writ sought and quash the order under review.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Allen v. State Farm Fla. Ins. Co., 198 So. 3d 871 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016)…hibited). Thus, where the liability of State Farm has not been established, it is premature to disclose the settlement when it is not admissible in evidence and would hot lead to adniissible evidence as to liability. See Schlesinger v. Schlesinger, 186 So. 3d 618 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016) (determining that discovery by the decedent’s widow of the bank records belonging to the decedent’s former wife was premature when it had not yet been determined whether the widow was entitled to an accounting from her husband’s e…
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Elkins v. Elkins, 252 So. 3d 254 (Fla. 4th DCA 2018)…ashing an order compelling production of confidential business information because the court had not yet determined the validity of a settlement agreement or found the discovery relevant to any remaining issues); see also Schlesinger v. Schlesinger, 186 So. 3d 618 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016) (quashing an order permitting discovery of bank records because the court had not yet decided whether the opposing party could ---PAGE 3--- 3 recover any payments). Accordingly, we grant the certiorari petition and quash the o…
Authorities Cited
- Martin-Johnson, Inc. v. Savage, 509 So. 2d 1097 (Fla. 1987)
- Allstate Ins. Co. v. Langston, 655 So. 2d 91 (Fla. 1995)
- Kenneth Friedman, M.D. v. Heart Inst. OF Port ST. Lucie, Inc., 863 So. 2d 189 (Fla. 2003)
- Spry v. Professional Employer Plans, 985 So. 2d 1187 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008)
- Arthur Fennieston, Inc. v. Pratt, 673 So. 2d 560 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996)
- G. H. Crawford Co. Fin. Servs. v. Goch, 292 So. 2d 54 (Fla. 3d DCA 1974)
- DRS. Weiland v. Robert L. Tindall, M.D., 372 So. 2d 505 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979)
- ALY Handbags, Inc. v. Ira Rosenfeld, 305 So. 2d 56 (Fla. 3d DCA 1974)