Opinion ID: 3049939
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Pretrial Motion in Limine

Text: Merrick sought production of all documents added to Paul Revere’s claim file after Merrick brought suit. The insurers resisted this request, citing among other reasons attorneyclient privilege. After Merrick brought a motion to compel production, the magistrate judge warned the insurers that fail- ure to produce a privilege log would waive privilege and instructed the insurers not to invoke the privilege unless the claim file actually included privileged material. Paul Revere then reiterated its privilege objection in a supplemental response to Merrick’s document request, without producing a privilege log, and attested that “[n]otwithstanding and subject to these objections,” it had produced all responsive documents. In the meantime, Merrick discovered that when he filed this suit, counsel for the insurers assumed active management of the Merrick claim file. As a result, he became concerned that the insurers were using the attorney-client privilege to shield otherwise responsive documents from discovery, by claiming they were privileged communications between the insurers and counsel rather than routine documents related to claims MERRICK v. PAUL REVERE LIFE INSURANCE CO. 11117 adjustment. Merrick sought another hearing before the magistrate judge, who granted Merrick’s motion to compel, held all privileges waived and ordered the insurers to produce all responsive documents. The insurers produced no additional documents in response; indeed, Unum Provident reiterated its privilege claim in a later discovery response. Merrick then brought a motion in limine to suppress all documents in his claim file acquired after litigation commenced, on the ground that the insurers were picking and choosing which documents would be produced in discovery. In response, the insurers stated that no documents had been withheld on the basis of privilege, although at the hearing counsel for the insurers suggested in passing that such privileged documents existed. Merrick found this representation incredible, given that the insurers had collected over 3,000 pages of documents following the filing of the suit yet produced only three short memos analyzing that material. Merrick insisted before the district judge that the insurers were hiding evidence and demanded production of all “postlitigation notes” and other documents reflecting the “thought processes” underlying management of Merrick’s claim. The district court judge granted the motion in limine, and at trial suppressed much of this documentation on the ground that defendants were picking and choosing which documents to produce. After the court granted the motion in limine, the insurers submitted a declaration stating that they did not withhold any documents on the basis of privilege.