CHRISTINE M. ROUTHIER M.D, AND ST. AUGUSTINE SURGICAL, LLC, A FLORIDA LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY
v.
TONIA L. BARNES, RICHARD T. BARNES AND U.S. BARIATRIC ST. AUGUSTINE, LLC, A FLORIDA LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY
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A discovery order compelling defense counsel to disclose the amount paid to retained trial experts is not subject to certiorari relief, though the court certified a question to the Florida Supreme Court regarding whether the Worley analysis should apply equally to defense law firms.
[1] A discovery order requiring a defense law firm to disclose its financial relationship with retained trial experts, including those performing compulsory medical examinati…
Previewing 1 of 1 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 law in this area was not being applied in an even-handed manner to all litigants”
The court's observation regarding the inconsistent application of disclosure requirements between plaintiff and defense counsel
Petitioners, defendants in a medical malpractice suit, sought certiorari relief from a trial court discovery order requiring their counsel and law fir…
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IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA
FIFTH DISTRICT
NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO
FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND
DISPOSITION THEREOF IF FILED
CHRISTINE M. ROUTHIER, M.D., AND ST. AUGUSTINE SURGICAL, LLC, A FLORIDA LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY,
Petitioners,
v. Case No. 5D20-1862
TONIA L. BARNES, RICHARD T. BARNES
AND U.S. BARIATRIC ST. AUGUSTINE, LLC, A FLORIDA LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY,
Respondents. ________________________________/
Opinion filed November 6, 2020
Petition for Certiorari Review of Order from the Circuit Court for St. Johns County,
R. Lee Smith, Judge.
Michael R. D'Lugo, of Wicker Smith O'Hara McCoy & Ford, P.A., Orlando, for Petitioners.
Robert L McLeod, II and Leslie H. Morton, of the McLeod Firm, St. Augustine, for Respondents Tonia L. Barnes and Richard
T. Barnes.
No Appearance for Respondent, U.S. Bariatric St. Augustine, LLC, a Florida Limited Liability Company.
PER CURIAM.
In Younkin v. Blackwelder, 44 Fla. L. Weekly D549 (Fla. 5th DCA Feb. 22, 2019), we denied certiorari relief regarding a substantially similar discovery order. We observed there that while the disclosure of this type of financial information was both consistent with our earlier decision in Vazquez v. Martinez, 175 So. 3d 372, 373–74 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015), and furthered the “truth-seeking function and fairness of the trial,” see Springer v. West, 769 So. 2d 1068, 1069 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000), it also appeared to us that the law in this area was not being applied in an even-handed manner to all litigants. Younkin, 44 Fla. L. Weekly at D549; see also Worley v. Cent. Fla. Young Men’s Christian Ass’n, 228 So. 3d 18, 23 (Fla. 2017) (holding that a law firm representing a plaintiff in personal injury litigation that refers its clients to a specific physician for treatment is not required to disclose the extent of its referral or financial relationship with the physician because “[f]irst, and most obviously, the law firm is not a party to the litigation”).
Accordingly, consistently with our decision in Younkin, we deny the instant petition. However, as we did in Younkin, we certify the following question to the Florida Supreme Court as one of great public importance:
WHETHER THE ANALYSIS AND DECISION IN WORLEY
SHOULD ALSO APPLY TO PRECLUDE A DEFENSE LAW
FIRM THAT IS NOT A PARTY TO THE LITIGATION FROM
HAVING TO DISCLOSE ITS FINANCIAL RELATIONSHIP
WITH EXPERTS THAT IT RETAINS FOR PURPOSES OF
LITIGATION
INCLUDING
THOSE
THAT
PERFORM
3
COMPULSORY
MEDICAL
EXAMINATIONS
UNDER
FLORIDA RULE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE 1.360?1
PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI DENIED; QUESTION CERTIFIED.
EVANDER, C.J., LAMBERT and TRAVER, JJ., concur.
1 The Florida Supreme Court accepted jurisdiction in Younkin, Younkin v. Blackwelder, Case No.: SC19-385, 2019 WL 2180625 (Fla. May 21, 2019), and held oral argument in the case on September 10, 2020. To date, the court has not released its opinion.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Allstate Ins. Co. v. Boecher, 733 So. 2d 993 (Fla. 1999)
- Springer v. West, 769 So. 2d 1068 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000)
- Vazquez v. Milady Martinez, 175 So. 3d 372 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015)