Post on 03-Apr-2018
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
TAMPA DIVISION
LUIS GARCIA SAZ, and wife, MARIA DEL
ROCIO GARCIA,
Plaintiffs,
vs.
CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY RELIGIOUS
TRUST; U.S. lAS MEMBERS TRUST;
CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY FLAG SERVICE
ORGANIZATION, INC. ; CHURCH OF
SCIENTOLOGY FLAG SHIP SERVICE
ORGANIZATION, INC. d/b/a Majestic Cruise
Lines; and DAVID MISCA VIGE,
Defendants.
Case No. 8:13-CV-220-T27 TBM
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PLAINTIFFS' OMNIBUS OBJECTION TO THE SWEEPING
DOCUMENT PRODUCTION SOUGHT BY EXHIBIT A TO
DEFENDANTS' FLAG AND SHIP SUBPOENAS DUCES TECUM
Plaintiffs, Luis A. Garcia Saz and Maria del Rocio Garcia, hereby object to the
production of documents requested in multiple subpoenas duces tecum (the "Subpoenas") issued
by Defendants Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization, Inc. and Church of Scientology
Flag Ship Service Organization, Inc. ("Defendants"). The document requests issued by
Defendants, as set forth in Exhibit A to the Subpoenas , are identical, and impermissibly seek the
sweeping production of documents by (i) the separate law firms representing Plaintiffs, (ii)
document requests are patently overbroad and unduly burdensome, Plaintiffs object, on their own
behalves and on behalf of each of the recipients of the Subpoenas, to the production sought by
the Subpoenas.' (True and correct copies
ofthe
Subpoenas are attached as Composite Exhibit A.)
Defendants purport to serve the Subpoenas in order obtain discovery relating its
motion to disqualify all three law firms representing Plaintiffs in this action. The motion to
disqualify is premised on the contention that the law firms
of
Babbitt Johnson Osborne &
LeClainche and Weil Quaranta McGovern received confidential information from Gray
Robinson's representation of Defendants over ten years ago. Yet Defendants' motion is now
being used in an attempt to discover every communication among counsel relating to this suit for
fraud against the Church of Scientology Defendants, including all communications with non-
party individuals named in these subpoenas. The document requests - catching in their net
irrelevant and privileged communications among attorneys and their clients and their legal
consultants- are indefensibly overbroad.
As a preliminary matter, before permitting discovery, the Court should determine
whether a conflict of interest even exists as a result o Mr. Johnson's past representation of FSO
under Rule 4-1.9. This is particularly compelling in this case as Defendants do
not
allege that
Mr. Johnson (i) ever represented Defendants in connection with this fraud suit by the Garcias,
(ii) knew
of
the Garcias when he represented FSO over ten years ago, or (iii) has any confidential
information about this case. Rather, Defendants allege that Mr. Johnson's past representation of
Defendants on general matters, somehow, makes this case substantially related prior
representation. Before requiring Plaintiffs
to
file a privilege log detailing all privileged
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FSO has served the Subpoenas on the separate law firms
of
Gray Robinson, P.A., Babbitt,
Johnson, Osborne & Le Clainche, P.A., and Weil Quaranta McGovern, P.A. FSO also served the
Subpoenas on the individual attorneys within those separate firms, namely, Robert Johnson,
Richard Zabak , Theodore Babbitt, and Ron Weil. FSO also served the Subpoenas on non-party
Michael Rinder.
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communications, the Court should make that preliminary determination. If, in fact, no conflict
exists, communications among the individuals subpoenaed are not only irrelevant and/or
protected from discovery pursuant to the doctrines of work-product and attorney-client privilege,
but the efforts required by Plaintiffs and their counsel which Defendants seek to trigger by the
Subpoenas are unnecessary and, as such, burdensome and harassing.
Dated: July
12
, 2013
Respectfully submitted,
s/ Theodore Babbitt
Theodore Babbitt, Esq.
Florida Bar No: 091146
Babbitt Johnson Osborne & LeClainche, P.A.
1641 Worthington Road, Suite 100
West Palm Beach, FL 33409
T: 561-684-2500
F: 561-684-6308
tedbabbitt@babbitt-johnson.com
-and-
Ronald P. Weil, Esq.
Florida Bar No: 169966
Amanda M. McGovern
Florida Bar No: 964263
Weil Quaranta McGovern, P A.
Southeast Financial Center, Suite 900
200 South Biscayne Blvd.
Miami, FL 33131
T: 305-372-5352
F: 305-372-5355
RPW@weillaw.net
amcgovern@weillaw.net
Counsel for Plaintiffs Luis A. Garcia Saz and
Maria Del Rocio Burgos Garcia
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
We hereby certify that, on July 12 , 2013 , we electronically filed the foregoing document
with the Clerk of the Court using CM/ECF. We also certify that the foregoing document is being
served this day on all counsel or pro se parties identified below in the manner specified, either
via transmission of Notices f Electronic Filing generated by CM/ECF or in some other
authorized manner for those counsel or parties who are not authorized to receive electronically
Notices
of Electronic Filings.
F. Wallace Pope, Jr., Esq .
FBN 124449
Johnson Pope Bokor Ruppel
&Bums , LLP
P.o.
Clearwater, FL 33757
Phone: (727) 461-1818
Fax: (727) 462-0365
E-mail : wallyp@ipfirm.com
Counsel for Defendants
Marie Tomassi, Esq.
FBN 772062
Trenam Kember ScharfBarkin Frye
O'Neill & Mullis, P.A.
Bank of America Building
200 Central A venue, Suite 1600
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
Phone: (727) 820-3952
Fax: (727) 820-3972
E-mail : mtomassi@trenam.com
Counsel for lAS Administrations, Inc.
And U.S . lAS Members Trust
4
Nathan M. Berman, Esq .
FBN 329230
E-mail: nberman@zuckerman.com
Lee Fugate, Esq.
E-mail: lfugate@zuckerman.com
Jack E. Fernandez, Esq .
FBN 843751
E-mail: jfernandez@zuckerman.com
Mamie V. Wise, Esq.
FBN 65570
E-mail: mwise@zuckerman.com
Zuckerman Spaeder, LLP
101
E. Kennedy Blvd. , Suite 1200
Tampa, FL 33602
Phone: (813) 221-1010
Fax : (813) 223-7961
Counsel for Church of Scientology
Religious Trust