Costco Wholesale Corp. v. Superior Court

In the underlying lawsuit in this matter, real parties in interest (hereinafter collectively referred to as plaintiffs) [1] allege that prior to September 2001, defendant and petitioner Costco Wholesale Corporation (Costco) misclassified certain managers as exempt employees. Plaintiffs assert they have a right to inspect a letter that has been redacted by the trial court. In this writ of mandate proceeding, Costco asks this court for extraordinary relief contending the letter is protected from disclosure by the attorney-client privilege and the work product doctrine and it will be harmed by the disclosure of the redacted letter. We conclude that extraordinary relief is not warranted because Costco has not demonstrated how it will be irreparably harmed by the release of the letter as redacted. Thus, we deny the request for a writ of mandate.

Costco "operates `cash-and-carry membership warehouses' throughout the United States." ( Ellis v. Costco Wholesale Corp. (N.D.Cal.2005) 372 F.Supp.2d 530 ,0 534.) "Costco's nationwide operations are divided into three divisions (Southwest, Eastern, and Northern/Midwest), each governed by an Executive Vice President. ... These…