El Dorado Savings & Loan Assn. v. Superior Court

California Court of Appeal Feb 19, 1987 No. C000774Published

Before: Puglia

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Holding. The court held that a trial court order compelling production of an entire personnel file is improper without first balancing the individual's right to privacy against the need for discovery and considering less intrusive means of obtaining relevant information.

Issues

Whether the trial court erred in ordering the production of an entire personnel file without balancing the privacy interests of the employee against the discovery needs of the plaintiffs.
Whether the petitioners waived their right to contest the discovery order.

Disposition. Peremptory writ of mandate issued.

Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion

“When an individual’s right of privacy in his ... affairs conflicts with the public need for discovery in litigation, the competing interests must be carefully balanced.”

“In the context of discovery of confidential information in personnel files, even when such information is directly relevant to litigation, discovery will not be permitted until a balancing of the compelling need for discovery against the fundamental right of privacy determines that disclosure is appropriate.”

“the record is inadequate to support a conclusion that disclosure of the entire personnel file of Morris is justified.”

Opinion

PUGLIA, P. J.

Petitioners seek a prerogative writ to nullify the order of respondent superior court granting the motion of real parties in interest to compel production of the personnel file of petitioner Kenneth T. Morris.

Real parties in interest (hereafter plaintiffs) are former employees of petitioner El Dorado Savings & Loan Association. They commenced the underlying action in respondent court, alleging that during the course of their employment they were discriminated against on the basis of gender and age. The only defendant named in the complaint is petitioner El Dorado Savings & Loan Association (hereafter defendant or El Dorado). Petitioner Morris is not a party to the action. In discovery proceedings, plaintiffs sought production of any and all personnel records relating to petitioner Morris, who was also an employee of defendant El Dorado. El Dorado refused to produce the personnel file, asserting, inter alia, that production would violate Morris’s right of privacy.

Plaintiffs filed a motion to compel production, and respondent court ordered El Dorado to produce the entire personnel file of Morris on or before November 10, 1986.

On October 28, 1986, petitioners filed the instant petition for writ of mandate or prohibition. Plaintiffs filed opposition to the petition on October 31. On November 6, we restrained respondent court from enforcing its order compelling production pending further order of this court, and we notified the parties that we were considering a peremptory writ in the first instance and that any further opposition to the petition was to be filed on or before November 20, 1986. Plaintiffs timely filed supplemental opposition. We shall issue a peremptory writ of mandate.

Preliminarily, we note that the rule disfavoring review of discovery orders by prerogative writ is not applicable to the instant case because petitioners here assert that to compel production of the personnel file would

[345]

violate a privilege. (See, e.g.,

Sav-On Drugs, Inc.

El Dorado Savings & Loan Assn. v. Superior Court

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PUGLIA, P. J.

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