Where plaintiffs sought billing and litigation records from a non-party hospital, the trial court should have stayed the discovery until the parties had an opportunity to negotiate a confidentiality agreement per Florida's trade secrets laws.

This action arises out of a motor vehicle accident in which the plaintiff claimed to have suffered damages for bodily injuries and subsequent medical treatment. The petitioner hospital, a non-party, sought certiorari relief of an order from the Circuit Court for the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, Palm Beach County, which denied its motion for a protective order as to the discovery of confidential trade secret materials under § 90.506, Fla. Stat. The defendants sought discovery from the hospital concerning a particular procedure, including the amount the hospital has charged patients with and without insurance, those with letters of protection, and differences in billing for litigation patients versus non-litigation patients. The court agreed that the trial court had to narrowly tailor any order requiring disclosure in such a way as to protect its trade secret interests. The defendants sufficiently explained that they needed the hospital's information in order to dispute the amount of the plaintiff's claimed medical expenses for recovery if the hospital charges non-litigation patients a lower fee for the same medical services. The trial court denied the hospital's motion for protective order without taking protective measures. The hospital was entitled to relief only insofar as the trial court should have stayed the discovery until the parties had an opportunity to negotiate a confidentiality agreement, as required under Florida's laws protecting trade secrets.

Case Law Alert - 3rd Qtr 2010