Wise

This case calls on us to explore the litigiously fertile subject of the litigation privilege of Civil Code section 47, subdivision (b) (section 47(b)). We are asked to answer the following question: If a defendant’s tortious conduct in disclosing confidential information about a plaintiff was outside the scope of the litigation privilege ab initio, should the plaintiff be precluded from introducing evidence of damages resulting from subsequent use of the information by a third party in a litigation forum? We conclude allowing the defendant to escape responsibility for its wrongful behavior under those circumstances would extend the privilege well beyond its judicial and statutory underpinnings; we therefore decline to adopt such a rule.

Overview

By special verdict, a jury awarded plaintiff Annette Wise $100,000 in her suit against defendant Thrifty Payless, Inc. (Payless), for damages resulting from the unauthorized disclosure by Payless of prescription drug information to her husband, Rick Wise, from whom she had recently separated in contemplation of a marital dissolution.

On this appeal, Payless claims the trial court erroneously refused to preclude plaintiff from…