In Re Pacific Pictures Corp.
Pacific Pictures Corp. v. United States District Court
Opinion
Opinion
O'Scannlain, J.
ORDER
In the opinion filed in this case on April 17, 2012, we referred to allegations of misconduct made against an attorney by the name of David Michaels. That opinion is hereby amended to reflect that there has been no finding of wrongdoing on the part of Mr. Michaels. The amended opinion is filed concurrently with this order. This order does not affect any petitions for rehearing currently before the court, but no further petitions for rehearing will be accepted.
OPINION
We must decide whether a party waives attorney-client privilege forever by voluntarily disclosing privileged documents to the federal government.
I
In the 1930s, writer Jerome Siegel and illustrator Joe Shuster joined forces to create the character that would eventually become Superman. They ceded their intellectual property rights to D.C. Comics when they joined the company as independent contractors in 1937. Since the Man of Steel made his first appearance in 1938, he has been fighting for “truth, justice, and the American way.” Shuster, Siegel, their heirs (“Heirs”), and D.C. Comics have been fighting for the rights to his royalties for almost as long.