attorney-client privilege

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City of San Diego v. Superior Court, 2018 WL 6629322 (Cal. Ct. App. 2018)

As part of an internal affairs investigation regarding the unauthorized disclosure of a confidential police report, the San Diego Police Department questioned detective Dana Hoover regarding communications she had had with an attorney who was representing her in an employment-related lawsuit against the city. Although Hoover invoked the attorney-client privilege,…

In re Pac. Pictures Corp., 2012 WL 1640627 (9th Cir. 2012)

Although this case did not arise in the employment context, it has implications in labor and employment litigation matters in which a government agency is involved. The question the Ninth Circuit decided is whether a party waives the attorney-client privilege forever by voluntarily disclosing privileged documents to the federal government. The Court answered…

Cordero-Sacks v. Housing Authority of Los Angeles, 200 Cal. App. 4th 1267 (2011)

Ada Cordero-Sacks was terminated from her position as an attorney in the Los Angeles Housing Authority’s Office of Internal Control following her investigation of alleged internal misconduct and fraud within the Authority. Cordero-Sacks’s claim for retaliatory discharge under the California False Claims Act (the “FCA”) was tried to a jury, which…

 Hernandez v. Tanninen, 604 F.3d 1095 (9th Cir. 2010)

Rolando Hernandez alleged claims of race and national origin discrimination based on disparate treatment, retaliation, and a hostile work environment while he was employed as a mechanic in the Fire Shop of the City of Vancouver, Washington. Hernandez sued the city and another employee, Mark Tanninen. Hernandez was initially represented by attorney Gregory Ferguson. Hernandez told Ferguson that Tanninen had witnessed the discrimination and would corroborate his story. Ferguson interviewed Tanninen, who did initially corroborate Hernandez’s story, but after speaking with the Deputy Fire Chief, Tanninen decided his getting involved would not be good for the Deputy Fire Chief and “everyone involved.” Since Ferguson was a witness to Tanninen’s original statements corroborating the allegations, Ferguson referred the case to another attorney.

Jasmine Networks, Inc. v. Marvell Semiconductor, Inc., 117 Cal. App. 4th 794 (2004)

Marvell Semiconductor, Inc. and Jasmine Networks, Inc. are competitors in the business of designing and manufacturing telecommunications chips. Marvell offered to buy some of Jasmine’s technology, along with some of its engineers, and Jasmine accepted after negotiating a nondisclosure agreement preventing Marvell from obtaining Jasmine’s trade secrets or employees without paying…

Oxy Resources Cal. LLC v. Superior Court, 115 Cal. App. 4th 874 (2004)

Oxy Resources and EOG Resources entered into a complex transaction whereby they exchanged interests in a number of oil and gas producing properties. Oxy and EOG anticipated that Calpine Natural Gas LP might sue them as a result of the transaction and, therefore, they entered into a joint-defense agreement before finalizing…

McKesson HBOC, Inc. v. Superior Court, 115 Cal. App. 4th 1229 (2004)

After McKesson publicly disclosed that its auditors had discovered improperly recorded revenues at a McKesson subsidiary, it became the subject of shareholder lawsuits and investigations by the United States Attorney’s Office and the SEC. McKesson retained an outside law firm to represent it in the shareholder lawsuits and to perform an internal…

2,022 Ranch, LLC v. Superior Court, 113 Cal. App. 4th 1377 (2003)

A purchaser of land (2,022 Ranch, LLC) sued its title insurer (Chicago Title) for breach of contract and bad faith. During the course of the litigation, 2,022 Ranch sought documents from Chicago Title’s claims file and also to depose claims handlers and their supervisors concerning Chicago Title’s handling of and refusal to…