Marten v. Yellow Freight System, Inc.
United States District Court for the District of Kansas
1998 WL 13244 (1998)
- Written by Jenny Perry, JD
Facts
While litigating an employment-discrimination claim against Yellow Freight System, Inc. (Yellow Freight) (defendant), Dennis Marten (plaintiff) moved to compel Yellow Freight to produce a document entitled “ERC Minutes May 1, 1995” (minutes). The minutes pertained to a meeting of Yellow Freight’s employee-review committee (ERC) at which Marten’s employment was discussed. The ERC was a group that convened when necessary and did not hold meetings on a regular schedule. The meeting occurred after Marten filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Yellow Freight objected to Marten’s discovery request and argued in response to the motion to compel that the work-product doctrine protected the minutes from disclosure. Yellow Freight’s in-house counsel Ronald Sandhaus, who prepared the minutes, stated that the document contained legal advice he provided to Yellow Freight for the purpose of addressing Marten’s job-related disciplinary problems. Marten argued that any legal advice Sandhaus might have given the ERC was incidental to business advice and therefore the minutes were discoverable.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Rushfelt, J.)
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