Opinion ID: 1852164
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Availability of Review by Petition for Writ of Mandamus and Standard of Review

Text: In Ex parte Dillard Department Stores, Inc., 879 So.2d 1134 (Ala.2003), this Court delineated when review of an order dealing with discovery is available by a petition for a writ of mandamus and the standard of that review, in light of Ex parte Ocwen Federal Bank, FSB, 872 So.2d 810 (Ala.2003): Mandamus is an extraordinary remedy and will be granted only when there is '(1) a clear legal right in the petitioner to the order sought, (2) an imperative duty upon the respondent to perform, accompanied by a refusal to do so, (3) the lack of another adequate remedy, and (4) properly invoked jurisdiction of the court.' Ex parte Alfab, Inc., 586 So.2d 889, 891 (Ala.1991). In Ex parte Ocwen Federal Bank, FSB, 872 So.2d 810 (Ala.2003), this Court announced that it would no longer review discovery orders pursuant to extraordinary writs. However, we did identify four circumstances in which a discovery order may be reviewed by a petition for a writ of mandamus. Such circumstances arise (a) when a privilege is disregarded, see Ex parte Miltope Corp., 823 So.2d 640, 644-45 (Ala.2001); (b) when a discovery order compels the production of patently irrelevant or duplicative documents the production of which clearly constitutes harassment or imposes a burden on the producing party far out of proportion to any benefit received by the requesting party, see, e.g., Ex parte Compass Bank, 686 So.2d 1135, 1138 (Ala.1996); (c) when the trial court either imposes sanctions effectively precluding a decision on the merits or denies discovery going to a party's entire action or defense so that, in either event, the outcome of the case has been all but determined and the petitioner would be merely going through the motions of a trial to obtain an appeal; or (d) when the trial court impermissibly prevents the petitioner from making a record on the discovery issue so that an appellate court cannot review the effect of the trial court's alleged error. The burden rests on the petitioner to demonstrate that its petition presents such an exceptional case  that is, one in which an appeal is not an adequate remedy. See Ex parte Consolidated Publ'g Co., 601 So.2d 423, 426 (Ala.1992). 879 So.2d at 1136-1137. The railroads have sustained their burden of demonstrating the applicability of exception (a), above, i.e., that this is a case in which a privilege is disregarded. Therefore, a petition for a writ of mandamus is available to review the trial court's discovery order.