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Mohawk Industries, Inc. v. Carpenter

Supreme Court of the United States · 2009 · Civil Procedure

Civil ProcedureAppellate JurisdictionFinal Judgment RuleCollateral Order DoctrineAttorney-Client Privilege28 U.S.C. §1291final decisionscollateral order doctrine

Facts

Norman Carpenter sued Mohawk, alleging the company terminated him after he reported to human resources that Mohawk employed undocumented immigrants and then refused to recant those statements during a meeting with Mohawk's retained counsel in separate litigation. In Carpenter's suit, he moved to compel information about that meeting and the company's termination decision. Mohawk asserted the attorney-client privilege, and the district court agreed the privilege applied but held Mohawk had implicitly waived it through representations made in the separate Williams case. The district court ordered disclosure, declined §1292(b) certification, but stayed the ruling so Mohawk could pursue other avenues of review.

Issue

Whether a district court order compelling disclosure of information over an attorney-client privilege objection, based on waiver, qualifies for immediate appeal under the collateral order doctrine of 28 U.S.C. §1291.

Rule

Under 28 U.S.C. §1291, only a narrow class of prejudgment collateral orders is immediately appealable, and only if the category of orders is effectively unreviewable after final judgment in a way that would imperil a substantial public interest or some particular value of a high order. Disclosure orders adverse to the attorney-client privilege do not meet that standard because effective review is available through postjudgment appeal and other established mechanisms such as §1292(b) certification, mandamus, sanctions-based review, and contempt appeals.

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One of 10 multiple-choice questions for this case. Pick an answer to see why.

In a federal trade-secret suit in Denver, Silver Mesa Robotics was ordered to produce emails between its in-house lawyer and executives after the district court found the privilege had been waived. The court refused to certify an interlocutory appeal under 28 U.S.C. §1292(b), and Silver Mesa filed an immediate appeal under 28 U.S.C. §1291.

How should the court of appeals rule on appellate jurisdiction?

Explanation. The majority held that disclosure orders adverse to the attorney-client privilege do not qualify for immediate appeal under the collateral order doctrine. Even though privilege is important, such orders are not treated as effectively unreviewable after final judgment because postjudgment appeal and other review mechanisms can adequately protect the interest. The denial of §1292(b) certification does not itself create collateral-order jurisdiction. (Derived from Mohawk Industries, Inc. v. Carpenter (2009).)