Lawyer-Client Privilege; Court Rejects “Gotcha” Theory of Waiver Under Public Records Act | Perkins Coie - JDSupra

See - Court Rejects “Gotcha” Theory of Waiver Under Public Records Act | Perkins Coie - JDSupra





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A California appellate court has ruled that inadvertent disclosure of documents containing attorney-client communications in response to a Public Records Act request does not result in a waiver of the privilege. Newark Unified School District v. Superior Court, No. A142963 (1st Dist. Ct. App., August 1, 2015). A contrary interpretation, the court concluded, would not advance the purposes of the statute and would create an irreconcilable conflict with Evidence Code section 912, under which accidental disclosure of attorney-client information does not constitute a “disclosure” triggering its waiver provisions.

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