Case Name: Edward A. WILLIAMSON, Individually, and Edward A. Williamson, P.A. v. Lisa EDMONDS and Larry Edmonds
Court: Mississippi Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Mississippi
Decision Date: 2004-08-12
Citations: 880 So. 2d 310
Docket Number: No. 2003-IA-01099-SCT
Parties: Edward A. WILLIAMSON, Individually, and Edward A. Williamson, P.A. v. Lisa EDMONDS and Larry Edmonds.
Judges: COBB, P.J., CARLSON AND DICKINSON, JJ., CONCUR. WALLER, P. J., DISSENTS WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION JOINED BY EASLEY AND RANDOLPH, JJ. EASLEY, J., DISSENTS WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION JOINED BY WALLER, P.J., AND RANDOLPH, J. DIAZ AND GRAVES, JJ„ NOT PARTICIPATING.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 880
Pages: 310–329

Head Matter:
Edward A. WILLIAMSON, Individually, and Edward A. Williamson, P.A. v. Lisa EDMONDS and Larry Edmonds.
No. 2003-IA-01099-SCT.
Supreme Court of Mississippi.
Aug. 12, 2004.
John Benton Clark, Simine Bazyari Reed, Ernest G. Taylor, Shanda L. Lewis, Jackson, attorneys for appellants.
George W. Healy, IV, attorney for ap-pellees.

Opinion:
SMITH, Chief Justice,
for the Court.
Procedural History
¶ 1. Lisa and Larry Edmonds (the Ed-mondses) sought a declaratory judgment in the Circuit Court of Kemper County, Mississippi, against attorney Edward A. Williamson and his law firm, Edward A. Williamson, P.A. (hereinafter Williamson), alleging Williamson breached his duty of care, contractual obligations, and duty of loyalty to his clients. Subsequently, the Edmondses filed an amended complaint against Williamson demanding a total of $1,000,000 in damages, attorney fees and other relief.
¶2. The Edmondses served discovery requests on Williamson. Williamson responded by arguing that much of the information was privileged or otherwise confidential pursuant to the confidentially agreement contained in the settlement. Williamson settled the Edmondses' claims along with other named and unnamed plaintiffs in connection with Annette Williams, et al. v. American Home Products Corp., Cause No.2000-207, pursuant to the Qualified Settlement Fund (QSF) order entered in the Circuit Court of Holmes County, Mississippi, in compliance with the regulations established by the Internal Revenue Service.
¶ 3. Williamson objected to answering the Edmondses' propounded interrogatories and requests for documents maintaining that they violated attorney-client privilege and the confidentiality agreement contained within the settlement relating to Williamson's representation of other Phen-Fen clients included in the settlement, including the names of all of Williamson's Phen-Fen clients, the total settlement amount, and the amount of all individual settlements. Williamson argued that disclosure would violate the contractual confidentiality of the settlement and the QSF order.
¶4. The QSF order entered by the Holmes County Circuit Court contained the following provisions:
5. Upon delivery of the consideration to be paid by the defendant and delivery of the signed Confidential Releases by all plaintiffs and claimants, the liability of the defendant, American Home Products Corporation, shall be extinguished.
6. All parties to this settlement and their lawyers and representatives and the Administrator; shall keep the terms of this settlement confidential and the proceedings herein sealed.
The Edmondses filed their motions to compel answers to the propounded interrogatories and requests for production of documents. Williamson responded again asserting attorney-client privileges on behalf of his other clients involved in the settlement and arguing that the confidentiality agreement incorporated into the QSF order issued by the Circuit Court of Holmes County barred disclosure.
¶ 5. Williamson also filed a motion for protective order to prohibit the Edmonds-es from seeking discovery of confidential settlement documents and information attaching the Holmes County Circuit Court QSF order. Williamson later filed a supplemental motion for protective order seeking also to prevent the taking of the deposition of, and the production of subpoenaed documents by, Dr. Malcolm Taylor, a medical expert in the Holmes County Circuit Court litigation against American Home Products Corporation (hereinafter American Home).
¶ 6. Several former plaintiffs in the Holmes County Circuit Court litigation represented at this time by counsel other than Williamson intervened for the limited purpose of asserting their claims of legal and medical privileges.
¶ 7. Williamson filed a motion to dismiss or transfer the case to Holmes County Circuit Court. Following a hearing held regarding venue and discovery issues, the Kemper County Circuit Court issued its Memorandum Opinion and Order denying Williamson's motion to dis miss or transfer to Holmes County, granting Edmondses' motion to compel as to attorney-client and physician-patient privileges, and ordering the parties to seek relief from the Holmes County Circuit Court from the confidentiality provision of the QSF Order. Williamson moved to reconsider or in the alternative, to certify the issues for interlocutory appeal. In turn, we granted permission for this interlocutory appeal. See M.R.A.P. 5.
Facts
¶ 8. Williamson represented 31 clients and their spouses in Phen-Fen product liability litigation against American Home. The Edmondses were among Williamson's clients. On November 12, 2000, Lisa first met with Williamson at his law office in Philadelphia, Neshoba County, Mississippi. Five days later, Lisa returned to Williamson's law office in Philadelphia to sign a contract of representation. Williamson filed suit on behalf of 14 named plaintiffs out of the 31 clients in Annette Williams, et al. v. American Home Products Corp. in the Circuit Court of Holmes County. The Edmondses were not named as plaintiffs. Williamson prosecuted the claims of all 31 clients, whether named or unnamed in the litigation.
¶ 9. On April 24, 2001, Williamson negotiated an aggregate settlement on behalf of the 31 clients and their spouses in Annette Williams, et al v. American Home Products Corp. in the Circuit Court of Holmes County. In the QSF order, the Holmes County Circuit Court approved the settlement as negotiated by Williamson. Additionally, the trial court sealed the terms of the settlement. Each client executed a release and confidentiality agreement in exchange for a monetary settlement. Lisa executed her settlement documents at Williamson's law office in Philadelphia, Mississippi. Subsequent to Lisa's executing the settlement documents, her husband, Larry, settled his loss of consortium case. Larry executed the settlement documents at Williamson's law office in Philadelphia..
¶ 10. The Edmondses lived in Kemper County, Mississippi. During the course of his representation, Williamson's law office mailed documents to Lisa at her Kemper County residence, via U.S. Mail, and hand-delivered one letter to Lisa at her home by Williamson's legal assistant.
¶ 11. On interlocutory appeal, Williamson raises the issue of whether the trial court erred in not transferring venue from Kemper County. Williamson also raises the issue of attorney-client privilege and doctor-patient privilege for the medical information and the confidentiality agreement contained in the QSF order entered by the Holmes County Circuit Court. Williamson argues that each of these prevent the disclosure of the information requested by the Edmondses.
Legal Analysis
I. Whether the Trial Court Erred in Denying the Defendants' Motion to Transfer Venue?
¶ 12. The Edmondses filed their complaint in this action on July 15, 2002. Thus, the amendments to the venue statute which went into effect on January 1, 2003, are not applicable to the case sub judice as per Section 16 of 2002 Miss. Laws, 3d Ex.Sess., ch. 4, which states: "This act shall take effect and be in force from and after January 1, 2003, and shall apply to all causes of action filed on or after that date." The applicable venue statute, prior to that amendment, read in pertinent part:
Civil actions of which the circuit court has original jurisdiction shall be commenced in the county in which the defendant or any of them may be found or in the county where the cause of action may occur or accrue and, if the defen dant is a domestic corporation, in the county in which said corporation is domiciled or in the county where the cause of action may occur or accrue, except where otherwise provided....
Miss.Code Ann. § 11-11-3(1) (Supp.2001) (emphasis added). As amended, the section omits the accrual language.
¶ 13. An application for a change of venue is addressed to the discretion of the trial judge, and his ruling thereon will not be disturbed unless it clearly appears that there has been an abuse of discretion or that the discretion has not been justly and properly exercised under the circumstances of the case. Beech v. Leaf River Forrest Prods., Inc., 691 So.2d 446, 448 (Miss.1997) (quoting Miss. State Highway Comm'n v. Rogers, 240 Miss. 529, 128 So.2d 353, 358 (1961)). Additionally, the trial court must give the plaintiff the benefit of reasonable doubt with respect to venue selection, and this Court must do the same on appeal. Pisharodi v. Golden Triangle Reg'l Med. Ctr., 735 So.2d 353, 354 (Miss.1999). It is well-established that the plaintiff is entitled to choose between any of the permissible venue options where credible evidence or factual basis supports the venue selected. See Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Johnson, 807 So.2d 382, 387 (Miss.2001); Earwood v. Reeves, 798 So.2d 508, 513 (Miss.2001); Forrest County Gen. Hosp. v. Conway, 700 So.2d 324, 325 (Miss.1997). A substantial component of the claim must have taken place in the county for venue to exist where the alleged act or omission occurred. See Flight Line, Inc. v. Tanksley, 608 So.2d 1149, 1157 (Miss.1992). See also Earwood, 798 So.2d at 513 (holding that Covington County, where receipt of the check for an allegedly insufficient amount occurred, would be a substantial component of the claim); Conway, 700 So.2d at 325.
¶ 14. In Tanksley, an airplane was improperly loaded in Warren County, Mississippi. Tanksley, 608 So.2d at 1153-54. The plane flew to Chicago, Illinois, where Tanksley was injured while unloading the plane. Id. Tanksley's injury was the result of the improper loading. Id. This Court found venue to be proper in Warren County finding that the injury could not have occurred without the negligent loading. Id. at 1156-57. We stated:
In the final analysis, venue is about convenience. The legislative prescription implies a legislative finding counties meeting certain criteria will generally be more convenient to the parties. The use of "occur" makes sense because important witnesses will often be accessible where the action occurs. Yet, there is nothing in the phrase "where the cause of action may occur ." that limits the judicial search for but a single county. Torts arise from breaches of duties causing injuries, and it is common experience that breach and causation and impact do not all always happen at once. At the very least, the word "occur" connotes each county in which a substantial component of the claim takes place, and this may include, in the present context, the negligent conduct which substantially undergirds Tanksley's claim.
Tanksley, 608 So.2d at 1157. See also Earwood, 798 So.2d at 513 (quoting Tanksley, 608 So.2d at 1157).
¶ 15. As correctly stated by the trial court, Miss.Code Ann. § 11-11-3 (Supp.2001), the governing Mississippi venue statute, as it existed when the suit was filed is applicable in this case. For venue purposes, a cause of action accrues "either where the actual tortious conduct occurs or where the plaintiff suffers actual injuries from the negligence." Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Johnson, 807 So.2d 382, 387 (Miss.2001). This Court defined and distinguished the "occur" and "accrue" language found in Flight Line, Inc. v. Tanksley, 608 So.2d 1149, 1156 (Miss.1992), by stating:
'Occur' and 'accrue' are not synonymous, legally or otherwise, as the disjunctive connector forthrightly suggests. We read accrual in its formalistic sense. A cause of action accrues when it comes into existence as an enforceable claim, that is, when the right to sue becomes vested . this may well mean the moment injury is inflicted, that point in space and time when the last legally significant fact is found .
¶ 16. Here, the trial court found that the "correspondences, documents, phone calls, and personal contact between plaintiffs, defendants, and defendants' employees all occurred in Kemper County during the course of the representation." Although Holmes and Neshoba Counties are also proper venues for this action, the plaintiff is afforded the right to choose among permissible venues and this "choice must be sustained unless in the end there is no credible evidence supporting the factual basis for the claim of venue." Tanksley, 608 So.2d at 1155.
¶ 17. To support their claim for breach of contract and breach of the duties of loyalty and care, the Edmondses rely upon conversations and correspondence carried out or received in Kemper County, their county of residence. Although Williamson now claims "only a few documents were mailed and one was delivered to the Edmondses in Kemper County," Williamson admitted "there was a lot of things sent to Ms. Edmonds in Kemper County" and "everything that was of interest in the case" was sent to Ms. Edmonds in Kemper County. The information sent to Kemper County is central to the Edmondses' allegations of breach of the duties of loyalty and care .by their attorney. Williamson further admits that when the Edmondses failed to sign the release to settle the claims in his Neshoba County office, his assistant Glinda Bowles, more commonly known as "Kookie," was sent to hand-deliver the release the very next day. The Edmondses refused to sign the release because Williamson only showed Lisa the release and structured settlement and he settled for less than the amount previously discussed and agreed upon. The Ed-mondses allege Williamson threatened to drop Lisa's case and proceed with "his attorney lien on any lawsuit in the future," telling Lisa she "wouldn't be able to find another attorney" to take her case. In addition to delivering the release to the Edmondses in Kemper County, the Ed-mondses allege that after their conversation with Kookie, combined with discussions and correspondences had directly with Williamson, they decided to sign the agreement and did so at the Williamson office in Neshoba County soon after Kookie's visit. Williamson also admitted that Kookie was responsible for certain aspects of his operation and described "Kookie's relationship as more of the contact person."
¶ 18. The Edmondses' complaint specifically alleges Williamson induced Lisa to sign a release agreement retroactively accepting and approving his actions. Although Williamson stated that explaining all the settlement documents and their implications was not Kookie's job, when asked whether he was aware that Kookie had a conversation with Lisa concerning the document and all aspects of the settlement in Kemper County when she delivered the settlement release papers to the Edmonds home, Williamson replied: "Well, I'm sure knowing Kookie, she had a conversation with Ms. Edmonds, yes." In telephone conversations and correspondences, the Edmondses dealt primarily with Kookie. Williamson downplays Kookie's role in his operation. However, it was Kookie who did all the leg work in obtaining clients for Williamson. When Lisa received medical treatment for her heart condition, the receptionist at the doctor's office "came back with Kookie's name. She didn't give . you know, Williamson law firm. She just said Kookie. Call her at this number." When Lisa contacted Kookie, Lisa testified: "Kookie told me that I might have to live on oxygen. And that I could possibly die from pulmonary hypertension. And that I needed to do something immediately or I would lose my rights. There's a time frame you have. And she suggested that I come and meet with her. She said she could be in the office the next day on a Saturday." Lisa testified that she knew little about her condition and that "Kookie went into further detail with me." The complaint alleges and the depositions of the Edmondses show that Kookie played a far greater role than acknowledged by Williamson. The allegations of the complaint as supported through the Edmondses' depositions satisfactorily establish credible evidence of a factual basis to support their selection of venue in Kemper County. As such, the trial court did not act unjustly or improperly. The trial court clearly acted within the bounds of its authority in denying Williamson's venue challenge.
¶ 19. Most important in establishing where accrual or substantial components of the claim took place, however, is Kookie's visit to Kemper County. The Ed-mondses expressed their dissatisfaction with the alleged unauthorized settlement amount and left the Neshoba County office without signing the documents one day before Kookie's visit to Kemper County. According to Larry, Kookie's understanding that a "contribution to the Mississippi Trial Lawyers Association . was one of the conditions" for receiving the settlement amount Lisa had initially agreed to allegedly influenced their decision to sign the release and settle their claims. The Edmondses, who had walked out on Williamson the day before refusing to sign the release, talked with Kookie during her visit to their home and were ready to sign. Therefore, the visit, conversation, and representations are pivotal to the Edmondses' new claims, particularly as they pertain to the breach of duty of care and loyalty claims alleged. Much like the facts in Tcmksley, the Edmondses claim that their injury was at least substantially, if not wholly, the result of Kookie's visit to Kem-per County and conversation with the Ed-mondses. Kookie's visit and conversation with the Edmondses were the last legally significant facts. See also Earwood v. Reeves, 798 So.2d at 513 (quoting Tanksley, 608 So.2d at 1157). This case substantially occurred or accrued when the alleged tortious inducement by Williamson through Kookie took place in Kemper County. The injury did not occur due to the mere entry of the consent judgment. The Edmondses allege they were injured because they were not informed of all the details of the settlement, were misled, or were outright lied to by Williamson and/or his agent, Kookie. Without the visit and conversation with Kookie and Williamson through contacts with the Edmondses in Kemper County, no consent judgment would exist as to the Edmondses. The consent judgment compounded the underlying injury suffered by the Edmondses as a result of the alleged misrepresentations, communications, and/or contacts they had with Kookie and Williamson via in-person contact, telephone conversations, and correspondences received in Kemper County. Thus, venue in Kemper County is proper.
¶ 20. In a breach of contract, duty of loyalty, and duty of care case, it is not unreasonable to infer that the communica tions between an attorney and his client are a substantial component of the claims. All correspondence was sent to Kemper County. Additionally, the content of the correspondences between the Edmondses and Williamson characterize the attorney-client relationship and directly put into play the question of whether the Ed-mondses were given full disclosure and were indeed made aware of the specifics of the settlement agreement. Although a part of their claim occurred in Holmes County where the consent judgment was entered, the cause of action did not accrue upon its entry but accrued during the conversation in Kemper County which influenced the Edmondses to sign the release. Even assuming that the Edmondses' causes of action did not accrue during their conversation with Kookie in Kemper County, substantial components of their claims occurred through correspondences, documents, phone calls, and personal contacts. What the Edmondses were told about the settlement in Kemper County via telephone, mail, and personal contact are all substantial components of their claims. The components, which occurred in Kem-per County, are indeed the factual bases of their claims.
¶ 21. We hold that the trial court correctly applied the statute in this case and found credible evidence suggesting that the Edmondses' causes of action accrued and/or occurred in Kemper County such that venue was proper therein. As such, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Williamson's motion to change the venue.
II. Whether the Trial Court Erred in Granting the Plaintiffs' Motion to Compel Disclosure and Production of Privileged Information?
¶22. "The attorney-client privilege is the oldest of the privileges for confidential communications known to the common law." Hewes v. Langston, 853 So.2d 1237, 1244 (Miss.2003) (citing Upjohn Co. v. United States, 449 U.S. 383, 389, 101 S.Ct. 677, 66 L.Ed.2d 584 (1981)). "Its purpose is to encourage full and frank communication between attorneys and their clients and thereby to promote broader public interests in the observance of law and administration of justice." Id. at 1249. "That purpose, of course, requires that clients be free to make full disclosure to their attorneys." United States v. Zolin, 491 U.S. 554, 562, 109 S.Ct. 2619, 105 L.Ed.2d 469 (1989). In its version of the attorney-client privilege, Mississippi follows the uniform rule adopted by a majority of the states.
¶ 23. Rule 502(b) of the Mississippi Rules of Evidence defines the privilege as follows:
(b) General Rule of Privilege. A client has a privilege to refuse to disclose and to prevent any other person from disclosing confidential communications made for the purpose of facilitating the rendition of professional legal services to the client (1) between himself or his representative and his lawyer or his lawyer's representative, (2) between his lawyer and the lawyer's representative, (3) by him or his representative or his lawyer or a representative of the lawyer to a lawyer or a representative of a lawyer representing another party in a pending action and concerning a matter of common interest therein, (4) between representatives of a client or between the client and a representative of the client, or (5) among lawyers and their representatives representing the same client.
Miss. R. Evid. 502(b). See also Jackson Med. Clinic for Women, P.A. v. Moore, 836 So.2d 767, 771 (Miss.2003); See also Miss. Rules of Professional Conduct R. 1.6. This Court has interpreted the scope of the attorney-client privilege under Mississippi law broadly, stating:
the privilege relates to and covers all information regarding the client received by the attorney in his professional capacity and in the course of his representation of the client. Included are communications made by the client to the attorney and by the attorney to the client. In that sense it is a two-way street.
Barnes v. State, 460 So.2d 126, 131 (Miss.1984) (emphasis added). Further: "[t]he privilege does not require the communication to contain purely legal analysis or advice to be privileged." Dunn v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 927 F.2d 869, 875 (5th Cir.1991) (applying Mississippi law). "Instead, if a communication between a lawyer and client would facilitate the rendition of legal services or advice, the communication is privileged." Id. at 875. A significant part of the attorney-client privilege for purposes of this appeal is the "common interest" privilege, as set forth in Miss. R. Evid. 502, cmt. (b)(3). According to the comment to the rule: "The privilege extends to statements made in multiple party cases in which different lawyers represent clients who have common interests." Miss. R. Evid. 502.
¶ 24. Williamson asserts that they cannot disclose the confidential information surrounding the American Home settlement because the settlement pertains to thirty-one other clients. Mere joint representation cannot act as shield against an attorney malpractice action. Although there are no prior Mississippi cases which directly speak to the issues presented here, we are guided by the Mississippi Rules of Evidence, the Mississippi Rules of Professional Conduct, and the wisdom of our court in other states which have more squarely dealt with the issue here presented.
¶ 25. In many jurisdictions, joint representation of clients creates an exception to the general rule barring the disclosure of material protected by the attorney-client relationship. The joint representation exception to the general rule barring disclosure is based on the assumption that all clients engaged in an aggregate settlement are entitled to disclosure.
A lawyer who represents two or more clients shall not participate in making an aggregate settlement of the claims or against the clients . unless each client consents after consultation, including the disclosure of the existence and nature of all the claims . involved and of the participation of each person in the settlement.
Miss. Rules of Professional Conduct 1.8(g).
¶ 26. In absence of an opinion directly on point in Mississippi, the trial court prudentially relied upon the most similar facts and law as presented in Scrivner v. Hobson, 854 S.W.2d 148 (Tex.Ct.App.1993). In Scrivner, former clients brought a legal malpractice action against their former attorney who represented them and other families in an environmental lawsuit, alleging that the attorney settled the lawsuit without authority, incorrectly calculated the value of their share of the settlement proceeds, and impermissibly divided the shares of settlement attributable to their property with prior landowners. The Texas Court of Appeals held that the documents requested regarding the aggregate settlement came within the exceptions to the attorney-client privilege. Id. at 151-52. In Scrivner, the court interpreted Rule 503 of the Texas Rules of Evidence, which is identical to Rule 502 of the Mississippi Rules of Evidence, holding that:
Where parties display mutual trust in a single attorney by placing their affairs in his hands, the attorney must disclose to the others all opinions, theories, or conclusions regarding the clients' rights or position to other parties the attorney represented in the same matter. Cousins v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Co., 258 So.2d 629, 636 (La.App.1972). With regard to the attorney-client privilege, the general rule is that, as between commonly represented clients, the privilege does not attach to matters that are of mutual interest. See Tex.R. Civ. Evid. 503(d)(5). Hence, it must be assumed that if litigation eventuates between the clients, the privilege will not protect any such communications, the client should be so advised.
854 S.W.2d at 151.
¶27. Under Mississippi Rule of Professional Conduct 1.8(g), documents requested in discovery involve matters of interest common to all the plaintiffs involved in the aggregate settlement. The logic of Scrivner indicates that when an attorney represents joint clients in obtaining a joint settlement for which no individual negotiations on behalf of any one client were undertaken, the client may have access to the documents which pertain to the case. Id. In regard to an attorney's duty to his client, the Scrivner court stated that the documents requested "are relevant to the claims of the [former clients] that the proceeds of the aggregate settlement were improperly and fraudulently distributed among the various plaintiffs in the environmental lawsuit." Id. The Scrivner court held that the former clients could obtain discovery of the documents under the exceptions to the attorney-client or attorney work product privileges. Id.
¶ 28. We agree with the trial court's analysis of this case. We concur that by virtue of representing some thirty-one clients jointly in litigation, mediation and settlement, the joint client exception to the Mississippi Rules of Evidence is applicable in this case such that Williamson cannot shield himself from a motion to compel discovery based on the attorney-client privilege. Under Mississippi Rule of Professional Conduct 1.8(g), Williamson obtained a lump sum aggregate settlement for all of his clients during settlement negotiations. In determining whether the proceeds of the aggregate settlement were improperly or fraudulently distributed among the various plaintiffs in the American Home suit, the information requested by the Edmondses is highly relevant to their claims of breach of contract and breach of the duties of care and loyalty. The client is entitled to know the amount of the settlement, and the basis for the calculations, distributions and accounting of the proceeds of the settlement with American Home.
¶ 29. Additionally, Williamson asserts that the physician-patient privilege prevents disclosure of the documents. However, Miss. R. Evid. 503(a)(4) defines a communication as confidential only where it is not intended to be disclosed to third persons. Additionally, [a]ny party to an action or proceeding . who by his or her pleadings places in issue any aspect of his or her physical, mental, or emotional condition thereby and to that extent only waives the privilege otherwise recognized . " Miss. R. Evid. 503(f). The comment to this rule suggests the waiver should only apply to the American Home action. The comment is persuasive, however, because the plaintiffs in the American Home settlement used their medical condition as a sword to further their case against the company, they cannot now use the physician-patient privilege as a shield to entirely protect information which weighed heavy in the negotiation and settlement of their case and is highly relevant to the Edmondses' malpractice action.
¶30. Finally, Williamson argues that the confidentiality agreement signed by the Edmondses and the QSF order purporting to seal the settlement prohibit disclosure of the information sought. The confidentiality agreement and the QSF order were put into place to prevent public dissemination of any information indicating the existence of litigation or settlement, not to prevent the Edmondses from obtaining information relating to the case they participated in as plaintiffs.
¶ 31. This Court adopts a modified, narrower view, of Scrkmer. This problem in conjunction with the aforementioned privilege issues presented is easily remedied by the trial judge. Instead of opting for the most severe course of action and barring the Edmondses from obtaining this potentially highly relevant information due to privilege, the confidentiality agreement or the QSF order, or requiring all documents requested to be disclosed as in Scrivner and as the trial court ordered here, we hold that the following procedure shall be followed. On remand, the trial court shall review all of the documents objected to by Williamson and the other American Home plaintiffs. The trial court shall conduct an in-camera inspection of all documents requested in discovery and objected to by Williamson to ascertain relevancy and admissibility in the Edmondses' case at bar. The trial court shall require of the defense counsel to redact all information specifically identifying the other plaintiffs (i.e. name, address, etc.) in the American Home settlement, medical records of other plaintiffs, documents related to attorney/client issues, and any other information the trial court holds should be redacted. With respect to the persons about whom settlement and medical information has been requested, Williamson shall provide the Edmondses a chart which lists the persons, identified only as # 1, # 2, # 3, etc. For each person, the defendant shall provide: (1) the medical diagnosis, (2) additional information, if any, which affected the amount of settlement, and (3) the amount of settlement. In the event that the Edmondses request verification of the information provided by Williamson, Williamson shall provide medical records, settlement documents and other such documents as are necessary to the trial court, in camera, so that the trial court can verify the accuracy of the information on the chart. The trial court shall allow a reasonable time for inspection of the redacted documents by the person, or his or her counsel, before the documents are produced to the Edmondses.
¶ 32. Enabling members of the bar to wholly shield themselves from malpractice actions through the invocation of privileges, confidentiality agreements, and QSF orders would do a tremendous disservice to the public at large, as well as the legal profession. Indeed, if this Court found otherwise, a dangerous precedent would be set encouraging attorneys to advise their clients to sign and agree to confidentiality agreements and QSF orders in order to sidestep potential malpractice liability after a case is settled.
Conclusion
¶ 33. For the reasons set out above, we agree with the Circuit Court of Kemper County and hereby affirm its judgment and remand this case with instructions for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
¶ 34. AFFIRMED AND REMANDED.
COBB, P.J., CARLSON AND DICKINSON, JJ., CONCUR. WALLER, P. J., DISSENTS WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION JOINED BY EASLEY AND RANDOLPH, JJ. EASLEY, J., DISSENTS WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION JOINED BY WALLER, P.J., AND RANDOLPH, J. DIAZ AND GRAVES, JJ" NOT PARTICIPATING.