SCOTT FOLB, Plaintiff, v. MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY PENSION & HEALTH PLANS, et al., Defendants., 16 F. Supp. 2d 1164

Summary

Plaintiff brought an action in state court under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and state law alleging that he was wrongfully discharged by defendants, a pension plan and individuals. After removal to federal district court, plaintiff moved to compel discovery of a mediation brief and counsel communications regarding the mediation prepared on defendants' behalf. The district court magistrate judge denied plaintiff's motion and plaintiff objected. The court sustained plaintiff's objections to the magistrate judge's reasoning, but overruled the objections as to the magistrate's ultimate decision. The court held that evidentiary privileges were governed by federal law in federal question cases, even where pendent state law claims were involved. The court recognized a mediation privilege under Fed. R. Evid. 501 and held that mediation documents were privileged from discovery because such a privilege would provide a public good transcending the normally predominant principle of...