Summary
Petitioner and another company entered into a transaction where they exchanged interests in a number of properties. Because the transaction concerned real party in interest, it filed an action against petitioner and the other company. Real party in interest filed a motion to compel the production of certain documents. Petitioner contended that the documents were protected from disclosure. After the motion was granted in part, both parties filed a writ of petition to challenge the order. On appeal, the court determined that the trial court erred by protecting the disclosure of the pre-acquisition documents merely based on a joint defense agreement. The trial court failed to determine if they were reasonably necessary to accomplish the purpose for which the parties consulted their attorneys in negotiations. Moreover, there was no determination if the documents were privileged. An in camera review of the documents was necessary. Further, the trial court should not have compelled the ...
