In litigation it said has “consumed significant judicial resources,” the Pennsylvania Superior Court has ruled that a Philadelphia trial judge failed to address why 30 documents he compelled Blue Bell, Pa.-based Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein to hand over to the plaintiffs in a wrongful use of civil proceedings and abuse of process suit were not protected by attorney-client privilege and the work-product doctrine.
In an unreported memorandum decision in de Botton v. Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, a three-judge panel of the court unanimously vacated Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Allan L. Tereshko’s order requiring Kaplin Stewart to produce 30 documents sought by plaintiffs who alleged the firm and its clients had engaged in the wrongful use of civil proceedings and abuse of process when they filed antitrust claims in federal court.
