State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Superior Court of L.A. Cty.

At issue in this case is “the preservation of public trust in the scmpulous administration of justice and the integrity of the bar.” (In re Complex Asbestos Litigation (1991) 232 Cal.App.3d 572, 586 [ 283 Cal.Rptr. 732 ].)

The subject of this proceeding is an order of the trial court granting disclosure of information, some of which falls within the attorney-client and work product privileges, developed by the defense during litigation. We conclude that substantial evidence supports a finding of a prima facie case establishing the crime/fraud exception to the attorney-client privilege and that the same evidence establishes good cause for disclosure of work product and trade secret information. We therefore deny the petition for writ of mandate filed by State Farm Fire and Casualty Company (State Farm).

Statement of Facts

On September 21, 1995, real parties in interest, Roderick and Krista Taylor, filed suit against State Farm, several insurance brokers and current and former State Farm agents (the Taylor Action). In their second amended complaint, real parties allege that in 1983, State Farm, through its agent Harry Gelpar, issued a homeowners insurance policy to them,…