Employment & Labor Law
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Department of Children and Family Services v. Patterson
2005 Fla. App. LEXIS 16036
In Dept. Of Children and Family Services (DCFS), the department an attorney (Patterson) for poor performance. The plaintiff believed he was fired because he complained about how the department was handling cases. DCFS at 1.
During the depositions of two supervisors, plaintiff asked questions regarding the particulars of certain cases. The defendant refused to answer questions without a prior in camera inspection and order because the information was confidential under Florida law. Id at 2.
The plaintiff's filed a Motion to Compel, and it was granted by the trial court. The court ordered "all questions and answers disclosing information protected under section 39.202 Florida statutes (2002), be grouped in one area. At the conclusion of the deposition, the court would then perform an in camera inspection of the segregated materials to determine whether they contain information necessary for the prosecution of Mr. Patterson's case." Id at 2-3.
The department objected to this order because they wanted the in camera inspection before the disclosure of the materials in the deposition.
The appeals court held that the trial court's order did not go far enough to protect the confidential information. The court reasoned that "[the order] fails to adequately prevent inadvertent or intentional disclosure by deponents or others present at the depositions." Id at 5.
The court further reasoned that without any "confidentiality safeguards" in place, disclosure of the confidential information could not be prevented. Therefore, the court ordered order in addition to the trial court's original order. This confidentiality order by the trial court would then make it possible to keep the information confidential until the trial court makes an in camera inspection to determine if that information should be released to the public in order to resolve any disputes that arose between the parties.
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