Wallin Hester, PLC obtained a favorable ruling from the Arizona Supreme Court in Empire West Title Agency, LLC v. Talamante, 234 Ariz. 497 (2014). In Empire West, the Arizona Supreme Court held that a purchaser’s allegation of reasonable belief in its Complaint that a property description included an easement did not waive attorney-client privilege, distinguishing State Farm v. Lee, and Twin City Fire Ins. Co. v. Burke.
This decision was a result of a discovery dispute concerning whether Empire was entitled to discover former counsel’s file where a statement from a witness that he relied on an attorney for the basis of the “reasonable belief” allegation set forth in a Complaint.
The attorney’s advice was not injected into the claim or defense; therefore, the Court concluded that the attorney-client privilege had not been waived.
