On day before scheduled jury trial, Plaintiffs filed motion for sanctions based on alleged discovery violations by Defendant, alleging that Defendant sought to "claw back" several documents it claimed were protected by attorney-client privilege, and had withheld thousands of pages of documents based on privilege without producing privilege log. On first day of trial, parties selected a panel of jurors but they were not sworn or impaneled. Court ordered Defendant to produce documents by noon the next day, but counsel said it would be impossible, and that they could not produce privileged documents. Court denied request for stay of proceedings, which effectively enjoined Defendant from asserting privilege and from protecting legal privileges of 3rd parties.Record is inadequate to determine whether imposition of sanctions, including court's striking of Defendant's pleadings, was an abuse of discretion. Remanded for evidentiary hearing.(CHAPMAN and MOORE, concurring.)
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Discovery