Olohan v. Google LLC

Background

Plaintiff Ryan Olohan submitted a renewed request for a court conference and an order requiring defendant Tiffany Miller to produce unredacted versions of certain communications. The communications involved Miller, media consultants Evan Siegfried and Andrea Calise, Miller’s spouse, and attorneys Aaron Zeisler and Meghan Sullivan. According to Olohan’s submission, the communications concerned media coverage of the lawsuit and responses to related media inquiries, and were created after the complaint was filed.

Miller had redacted or withheld the communications based on attorney-client privilege and attorney work-product protection. Attorney-client privilege generally protects confidential communications made for the purpose of seeking or providing legal advice. The work-product doctrine generally protects certain materials prepared for litigation. Olohan argued that the communications were about public relations and media matters, not legal advice or litigation strategy. He also argued that disclosure to media consultants and Miller’s spouse waived attorney-client privilege and that Miller’s privilege log did not adequately describe at least one communication.

The Court’s Order

The order did not resolve whether the communications were privileged or require their production at that time. Instead, Judge Arun Subramanian ordered Tiffany Miller to respond to Olohan’s motion by February 29, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. By the same deadline, Miller was ordered to email the court unredacted versions of documents she was withholding or redacting for the judge’s private review. The provided text does not include a later ruling on the motion to compel.