Bottomley

Attorney Robert Bottomley (Bottomley) obtained a protective order (§§ 1987.1, 2019, subd. (b)(1)) after the trial court found certain subpoenaed documents were covered by the absolute privilege of section 2016, subdivision (b). Plaintiff Rumac, Inc. (Rumac) appeals from the order contending the privilege does not apply where the lawyer acts merely as the business agent for a client or where the writings are not made in preparation for trial. We conclude otherwise. Neither the text of the statute nor the policy underlying the creation of the absolute privilege warrants a class distinction between the lawyer-negotiator and the lawyer-litigator. There is also no valid reason to differentiate between the writings reflecting the private thought processes of a lawyer acting on behalf of a client at the beginning of a business deal and the thoughts of a lawyer when that business deal goes sour with resultant litigatiqn. We therefore affirm the order.

Factual and Procedural Background

Defendant Eugene F. Craig, individually, and San Diego-based Craig Enterprises, Inc. (collectively Craig) and Rumac own two contiguous parcels of land in Anchorage, Alaska, which they leased in…