Empire West Title Agency, LLC v. Hon. Talamante

At issue in this case was an abandoned easement on property that DOS Land Holdings, LLC purchased. The closing documents omitted the easement from the property’s legal description. DOS filed claims for breach of contract and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing against Empire West Title Agency, alleging that DOS “reasonably believed” that the easement was represented in documents used at the closing. Empire filed a motion to compel DOS to disclose any attorney-client communications indicating whether DOS knew before closing that the easement had been abandoned. The superior court denied the motion, concluding that the documents were protected by the attorney-client privilege. Empire filed a petition for special action in the court of appeals, arguing that DOS had impliedly waived the attorney-client privilege by alleging that it “reasonably believed” that Empire had met its contractual obligations. The court of appeals ordered the disclosure of attorney-client communications found relevant to the “reasonableness of DOS’s expectation of coverage.” The Supreme Court vacated the court of appeals’ decision, holding that the court erred in ruling that DOS impliedly waived the privilege by pleading its “reasonable belief” in the litigation. View "Empire West Title Agency, LLC v. Hon. Talamante" on Justia Law