An Erie Approach to Privilege Doctrine

10 ConLaw NOW 205, 2019

13 Pages Posted: 4 Jun 2020

See all articles by Megan M. La Belle

Megan M. La Belle

Catholic University of America (CUA) - Columbus School of Law

Date Written: May 15, 2019

Abstract

Privilege rules, which determine whether information is discover-able in a particular litigation, often vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Consequently, the Erie doctrine and other choice-of-law principles play an important role in shaping privilege law. This essay, written for the Sixth Annual Constitutional Law Conference at the University of Akron School of Law, considers two recent privilege cases — HannStar Display Corp. v. Sony Electronics, Inc. and In re Silver — which involved the California mediation privilege and the federal patent-agent privilege, respectively. While the HannStar court ignored well-established choice-of-law principles, the Silver decision shows that, when applied and interpreted appropriately, doctrines like Erie can help develop and evolve privilege law through the cross-pollination of ideas among tribunals.

Keywords: Erie, Privilege, Patent Agent Privilege, Mediation Privilege

Suggested Citation

La Belle, Megan Maureen, An Erie Approach to Privilege Doctrine (May 15, 2019). 10 ConLaw NOW 205, 2019, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3594920

Megan Maureen La Belle (Contact Author)

Catholic University of America (CUA) - Columbus School of Law ( email )

3600 John McCormack Rd., NE
Washington, DC 20064
United States

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