Help! Can an attorney ask for this?

lnelson · July 2003

If we have a corp officer, who is going through a divorce, recently take a wage deduction due to the company requested it. Can the opposing attorney ask to see the records showing if other officers also took wage deduction? I know this may be going alittle out of the realm of HR but, I am being asked by higher ups.
So I thought I would put it to the forumites for advice. Any responses are appreciated.xhugsx:*

Parabeagle · July 2003

Hopefully one of the attorneys on here can answer your specific question. The rule of thumb I have always used when dealing with lawyers (other than our own counsel) is, if you want it, let's see a subpoena. No subpoena, no documents. And I'll charge you a dollar a page for the photocopies, too. x;-)

Sunny · July 2003

In an ongoing case we're involved in, the employees' attorneys asked for all kinds of work comp and other information about other employees as part of discovery. Our attorneys argued that this was non-relevant and personal information. A compromise was reached. All this is by way of saying that I would certainly not release any information without a subpoena and/or an attorney's advice.

Good luck.

Sunny

Whatever · July 2003

Yes, the attorney can ask for this. However, I would not release the information without consulting with a lawyer (who will probably tell me to wait for a court order).

cebudragonlady · July 2003

Even with a supoena, do the "other officers" have a right to privacy re their salary information? After, all, the "other officers" are not party to the divorce. Just wondering...

Chari

Parabeagle · July 2003

Attorneys can ask for anything they want (and usually do) during the Request for Production. They'll ask for anything they think might have any degree of relevance. Then the other side will object to the irrelevant ones, not produce them, and off you go, the race is on!

scottorr · July 2003

I also agree with what has been advised so far. Our policy is no subpoena no documents. You do not have to give way to their intimidation. My guess is that a judge wont go for this unless there is some compelling reason they need to see this info.

lnelson · July 2003

What I am trying to find out is why would they need this information in this type of case? :-? It is not a company issue it is a personal one. The officer does not own any part of the company so they should only be interested in her info the others should be irrevelant. My opinion for whatever it is worth.

Parabeagle · July 2003

Attorneys decide for themselves what they believe is relevant. Both sides will object to the other's requests and ultimately a judge will decide what is relevant and what isn't. As a general rule, though, attorneys are going to ask for anything up to and including the original tablets of the Ten Commandments from the other side and it's up to the other side to object to the production of the documents. The fact that they are asking for documents showing whether or not other directors have taken a reduction probably relates to a suspicion that the divorcing director is the ONLY one who took a reduction as a ruse to artificially reduce the value of his assets, or something like that. Just a guess on my part.

FrayWitzer · July 2003

I believe parabeagle is on the money. It is not an uncommon ruse either for a corporate officer to try to hide his/her income by reducing his/her salary, but receiving all sorts of other reciprocal benefits which might otherwise not be discovered in a property division. Sad, but true. Usually the privacy of others can be protected with a confidentiality agreement. Of course, here in Mass., we lawyers can issue our own subpoenas, so insisting on a subpoena will not necessarily deter anyone. Consulting with your company's counsel is the best advice because refusal to comply with a subpoena (and insisting, instead, on a court order) could result in your paying the attorney's fees in connection with a Motion to Compel Production or a Motion for Contempt....

Evan

Rockie · July 2003

An opposing attorney can ask for anything, but I would not give out any information unless I had a subpoena and legal advice. I suspect he is asking for this additional information in order to prove/disprove that the employee took a cut to avoid paying or to get a reduction in some type of support. Attorney could argue that this employee "voluntarily" took this cut in order to avoid his obligations and this is the reason that this particular employee took the cut and no one else did.

Consult your counsel on this one.

System · July 2003

I follow three steps with requests from attorneys: 1) Wait for subpoena, 2) Notify our attorney, 3) notify the employee when information is subpoena'd from their file.

We're a public entity. There's a misconception about "public records." Several years ago the [then] mayor asked to see a department head's file. I got the nickname "File Nazi" because I would not hand it over without the managers signed permission.

"Sam"

lnelson · July 2003

This is not the first time officers of the company take pay reductions during hard times. It has happened several times before in the time I have been here. I never said that this is the only officer taking the reduction. I am just saying how would this pertain to other officers when it is a personal issue. The spouse of the officer is aware that reductions happened previously to all officers. I am sure that the reduction will cause some effect with support but, that was not the companies reason for the reductions, the economy was the reason. So, I should not give any information to the attorney until I receive a subpoena or court order. I knew that would be the case I was just curious if the attorney could ask for other records other than the divorcing officer.

Thank you for all the advice. Any other comments are appreciated.

CAL · July 2003

I would wait for subpoena before producing anything, and would tell the requesting attorney's office so. The reason being that you will have the specific request in writing so that in case the question of releasing "private" information about your employees comes up, you will be covered. The other reason I would ask for this is that in California, the entity serving the subpoena MUST inform the affected individual, either directly or via their legal representation, that their records are being sought and that they have the option to file a "Motion to Quash" (this is a legal motion to block the production of records).

I would recommend that before producing any type of employee records, you require either a subpoena, or a written release from the employee. Then, keep a copy of whatever you produce in a locked file, because I can guarantee that if there is a lawsuit, the opposing counsel will want the same info, and this will save you the headache of rounding up all the same info again.

Oh, and don't let an attorney "bully" you into releasing this information without a subpoena or release -- believe me, some of them will try!

blw · July 2003

If you do get a subpoena and decide to produce the info, you might try to produce without identifying individuals. Such as officer #1 at $XXXXXX salary was reduced to $xxxxxx. Provides info to show employee wasn't the only one without revealing other officers income info.

Help! Can an attorney ask for this?

Comments