The Supreme Court of United States held that disclosure orders adverse to the attorney-client privilege do not qualify for immediate appeal under the collateral order doctrine. In Mohawk Industries, Inc. v. Carpenter, 130 S. Ct. 599 (U.S. Sup. Ct. 2009) plaintiff moved to compel the defendant to produce information which defendant claimed was protected by the attorney-client privilege. The District Court agreed with defendant that the information was protected by the attorney-client privilege but concluded that it had waived the privilege. The District Court declined to certify the order for interrogatory appeal and the Eleventh Circuit dismissed defendant’s appeal for lack of jurisdiction holding that the District Court ruling did not qualify as an immediately appealable collateral order because a discovery order implicating the attorney-client privilege can be adequately reviewed on appeal from final judgment.
The Supreme Court agreed with the court of appeals and said: “The question before us is whether disclosure orders adverse to the attorney-client privilege qualify for immediate appeal under the collateral order doctrine. Agreeing with the court of appeals, we hold they do not. Post-judgment appeals, together with other review mechanisms, suffice to protect the rights of litigants and reserve the vitality of the attorney-client privilege.”