Shawn E. Canty v. Jose G. Barragan, Venture Transport Logistics and Zurich North American Insurance Company ( 2019 )

STATE OF LOUISIANA
COURT OF APPEAL, FIRST CIRCUIT
SHAWN E. CANTY NO. 2019 CW 1515
VERSUS
JOSE G. BARRAGAN, VENTURE
TRANSPORT LOGISTICS AND
ZURICH NORTH AMERICAN DECEMBER 19, 2019
INSURANCE COMPANY
In Re: Jose G. Barragan, Venture Transport Logistics and
Zurich North American Insurance Company, applying for
supervisory writs, 16th Judicial District Court,
Parish of St. Mary, No. 123466.
BEFORE: HIGGINBOTHAM, PENZATO, AND LANIER, JJ.
WRIT GRANTED. We find that the trial court abused its
discretion in granting the Motion to Compel Responses the
Subpoena Duces Tecum for Dr. Christopher Cenac Sr., M. D., LLC' s
complete business tax returns and 1099s from 2014 to 2018 and
reverse this portion of the trial court' s November 8, 2019
judgment.
A showing of relevancy and good cause is required for
the subpoena of a
non- party' s records. Stolzle v.
Safety &
Systems Assur. Consultants, Inc., 2002- 1197 ( La. 5/ 24/ 02), 819
So. 2d 287, 289 ( per curiam). The tax information and returns
requested in the Subpoena Duces Tecum are confidential and
personal in nature, and courts of this state have required that
the requestor show whether the information could be obtained in
a less intrusive manner. Id.; Bianchi v. Pattison Pontiac Co.,
258 So. 2d 388, 390 ( La. 4th Cir. 1972) ("
App. the party seeking
the income tax return must clearly establish good cause for its
production by showing the unavailability of the information from
other sources and, further, by relating its need to the issues
in dispute"). Also see In re Protest of Dow Chem. Co., 458 So. 2d
955 ( La. App. 1st Cir. 1984) ( allowing " unlimited discovery
solely on factually unsupported general allegations would render
the confidentiality of the records meaningless"). Plaintiff has
failed to show relevancy and good cause for the production of
the requested documents from the
non --party at this time.
Accordingly, the Motion to Quash the Subpoena Duces Tecum as to
Dr. Christopher Cenac Sr.' s 1099s from all insurance companies
and for complete tax returns from business for years 2014
through 2018 is granted.
TMH
AHP
WIL
COURT OF APPEAL, FIRST CIRCUIT
J2 DEPUTY CL RK OF COURT
FOR THE COURT