Weeks v. Case

Summary

The Alabama Supreme Court denied Thomas H. Weeks’s petition for a writ of mandamus seeking to vacate an order requiring him to produce audiotape recordings before the deposition of defendant John P. Case. The court held that the recordings were discoverable under the statement-related exception in Rule 26(b)(3), Ala. R. Civ. P., and that the timing of discovery was within the trial court’s discretion. The court concluded that Weeks had not shown a clear legal right to the requested relief.

Holdings

1. Weeks failed to establish a clear legal right to an order vacating the trial court's directive that he produce the recording before Case's deposition; the petition for a writ of mandamus was denied.
2. The substantial-need and undue-hardship showing discussed in Ex parte Doster Construction Co. did not govern production of the recording of Weeks's conversations with Case because the recording fell within Rule 26(b)(3)'s exception for a party's own prior statement.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Weeks had a clear legal right to mandamus relief vacating the trial court's order requiring production of the recording of his conversations with Case before Case's deposition.
2. Whether Rule 26(b)(3), Ala. R. Civ. P., permitted the trial court to require pre-deposition production of a party's surreptitiously recorded statement concerning the action.
3. Whether the trial court abused its discretion in determining the timing and sequence of discovery.

Disposition

writ_denied