Opinion ID: 2517270
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Distinguishing the Three-Prong Martinelli Test

Text: In her petition before this court, Stone argues that the trial court abused its discretion by compelling her to sign tax record authorizations without applying the three-prong balancing test of Martinelli. We now examine the Martinelli test and reject its applicability in the context of the discovery of tax returns. In Martinelli, this court considered whether a party could discover personnel files and staff investigation bureau reports maintained by the Denver Police Department. 199 Colo. at 167, 612 P.2d at 1086. Claiming police misconduct during his arrest, the plaintiff brought a multi-claim civil action against the department, its officers, and the City and County of Denver. Id. After reviewing the files and reports in camera, the trial court in that case entered an order granting the motion to compel discovery. Id. at 168, 612 P.2d at 1087. In the original proceeding before this court, the department, the officers and the City and County of Denver claimed that the materials were irrelevant and privileged. Id. at 168-173, 612 P.2d at 1087-91. They also argued that disclosure of the files would violate various state and federal statutes, as well as the officers' right to confidentiality. Id. at 173-79, 612 P.2d at 1091-95. Recognizing the competing interests involvedthe officers' desire to keep the information private and the state's interest in facilitating the ascertainment of truth in connection with legal proceedingswe held that a trial court must undertake a balancing test when a party invokes the right to confidentiality to bar disclosure of personal information. Id. at 174-75, 612 P.2d at 1091-92. We defined the three-prong inquiry as follows: (1) does the party seeking to come within the protection of [the] right to confidentiality have a legitimate expectation that the materials or information will not be disclosed? (2) is disclosure nonetheless required to serve a compelling state interest? (3) if so, will the necessary disclosure occur in that manner which is least intrusive with respect to the right to confidentiality? Id. at 174, 612 P.2d at 1091. Because it was not clear from the trial court's order in that case whether it engaged in the necessary balancing analysis, we instructed the court to conduct an in camera examination of the files and reports and make specific findings with regard to the three-prong inquiry. Id. at 175, 612 P.2d at 1092. Since Martinelli, this court has continued to apply the balancing test in similar cases, particularly those involving the discovery of personnel files. See, e.g., Corbetta, 975 P.2d at 720-21 (directing the trial court to conduct an in camera examination of employee personnel files in order to make specific findings regarding the Martinelli test); cf. Williams v. Dist. Court, 866 P.2d 908, 912-13 (Colo. 1993) (finding an abuse of discretion where, without first applying the balancing test, the trial court compelled the plaintiff to answer interrogatories concerning his sexual history). Stone now argues that because tax returns are confidential documents, the trial court should have applied the three-prong Martinelli analysis to the facts of this case. State Farm, on the other hand, claims that the trial court appropriately granted its motion to compel discovery by applying this court's compelling need analysis in Alcon. More specifically, State Farm argues that in Alcon this court analyzed the appropriateness of the discovery of tax returns without addressing the Martinelli test, and that if this court had intended to adopt a rule requiring trial courts to conduct the three-part inquiry with regard to tax returns, it could have done so in that case. We now recognize the limited applicability of the Martinelli test and instead, consider the appropriateness of employing the Alcon analysis in cases involving the discovery of tax returns.