Springhill Health Care Associates, LLC v. Benlein

Summary

The Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal granted a petition for writ of certiorari and quashed an order compelling production of documents and answers to interrogatories. The court held that the trial court was required to conduct an in camera inspection and assess asserted work-product and statutory privileges, including privileges under sections 400.147 and 415.107, Florida Statutes.

Holdings

1. The trial court departed from the essential requirements of law by ordering production and an answer to interrogatories without first conducting an in camera inspection to determine the precise nature of the documents and the applicability of the asserted work-product and statutory privileges.
2. On remand, the trial court must determine the discoverability and privilege status of each identified document and address the claimed privileges applicable to the interrogatory before compelling disclosure.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court departed from the essential requirements of law by compelling production of allegedly privileged documents and an answer to an interrogatory without conducting an in camera inspection.
2. Whether the trial court was required to determine the applicability of the statutory privileges under sections 400.147(4), 400.147(8)(d), and 415.107(1), Florida Statutes (2011), before compelling production.

Disposition

quashed