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United States v. Adlman

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

134 F.3d 1194 (1998)

Facts

Monroe Adlman (defendant) was an attorney and executive at Sequa Corporation, a manufacturer with two subsidiaries. Sequa considered merging the two subsidiaries, which would result in large losses and a large tax refund. Adlman expected this would lead to litigation with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), so he asked an external accountant and lawyer to prepare an evaluation of the tax implications of the proposed merger. The completed memorandum included detailed legal analysis of potential IRS claims, suggested potential legal strategies to respond, and predicted the likely results of litigation. The memorandum also made recommendations regarding the best way to handle the restructuring transactions. Sequa did restructure pursuant to the recommendations of the memorandum, which resulted in a multimillion-dollar tax refund. The IRS subsequently audited Sequa and subpoenaed the report. Adlman refused to turn over the memorandum, claiming protection under the work-product doctrine, and the IRS petitioned to enforce the subpoena. The district court found that the memorandum was not protected under the work-product doctrine and granted the motion to enforce. Adlman appealed.

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Issue

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Holding and Reasoning (Leval, J.)

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Dissent (Kearse, J.)

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