American Airlines, Inc. v. Superior Court

INTRODUCTION

During his wrongful employment termination lawsuit against American Airlines (American), Jawad Alamad indicated that his union representative had information that would support his claims of racial discrimination. American took the union representative’s deposition, but he refused to answer relevant questions on the basis that his discussions with other employees were protected-by a union representative-union member evidentiary privilege. Acknowledging the existence of such a privilege, the trial court denied American’s motion to compel the union representative’s deposition testimony. We hold neither California nor federal law recognizes such a privilege to prevent the disclosure of relevant information in a civil action. Accordingly, we direct the trial court to vacate its ruling and grant American’s motion to compel.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

1. The Lawsuit.

Alamad, a former American aircraft mechanic, sued American and 11 of his supervisors for wrongful termination, harassment, and discrimination under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). Alamad alleged, among other things, that throughout his employment he was continually discriminated…