Garcia: Objection to Subpoenas

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

[email protected]

-and-

Ronald P. Weil, Esq.


Amanda M. McGovern


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

[email protected]

[email protected]

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 : [email protected]

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 : [email protected]

Counsel for lAS Administrations, Inc.

And U.S . lAS Members Trust

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Nathan M. Berman, Esq .

FBN 329230

E-mail: [email protected]

Lee Fugate, Esq.


Jack E. Fernandez, Esq .

FBN 843751


Mamie V. Wise, Esq.

FBN 65570


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

Garcia: Objection to Subpoenas

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