Privacy Law in a Nutshell by John Soma

Author:John Soma
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780314289421
Publisher: West Academic
Published: 2014-03-11T04:00:00+00:00

3. Unauthorized Disclosure

While instances of civil liability for breach of the attorney’s duty of confidentiality are rare, the doctrinal basis supporting a claim is sound and can result in awards for monetary or injunctive relief, or both. In Prudential Insurance Co. of America v. Massaro,238 for example, equitable relief in the form of a permanent injunction barring further disclosure was granted following the unauthorized disclosures of an attorney acting in an in-house capacity. As the court explained, essential to the attorney-client privilege is the requirement that “lawyers must not themselves voluntarily divulge information covered by their client’s … privilege.”239 In Perez v. Kirk & Carrigan, 822 S.W.2d 261 (Tex. Ct. App. 1991), disclosure of confidential client information was held to allow for tort based recovery upon proof of damages. Perez was employed by Coca-Cola as a truck driver and was involved in a tragic automobile accident resulting in the death of 21 children.240 221

Coca-Cola attorneys represented to Perez that they would represent him in the ensuing legal action, and with this understanding, Perez provided a sworn statement regarding the accident. Without the consent of Perez, the Coca-Cola attorneys disclosed this statement to the District Attorney resulting in a grand jury indictment for involuntary manslaughter. The statement was found to be a protected attorney-client communication revealed without client consent, and thus, the mental anguish and emotional distress that Perez suffered as a result of his conviction created a valid claim for damages.

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