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890 Other Statutory Actions | Alabama Northern
Notice
NOTICE of Appearance by Katherine Celeste Speegle on behalf of Plaintiff's Counsel (Speegle, Katherine) (Entered: 08/28/2026)
Insurance | Massachusetts
Order
Magistrate Judge M. Page Kelley: ELECTRONIC ORDER entered. Concerning 285 , the Plaintiff's Objection to 281 , Discovery Master Order No. 26, after de novo review, the objection is overruled and the Discovery Master's Order is adopted by this court.The court need not repeat in detail the Discovery Master's well-founded findings which rely heavily on previous Orders upheld by this court. Her finding that communications including Robert Gendron, CEO of third-party consultant CREF, are not privileged under the "functional equivalent" doctrine are unassailable and will not be disturbed. As she found, there is a contemporaneous document between Gendron and Steward that "explicitly disclaims that Gendron's or CREF's role" creates any relationship between the two companies that would warrant the application of the "functional equivalent" doctrine; Gendron himself testified that he did not have the type of high-level decision-making authority that would warrant such a designation; Gendron was not in an employee or agency relationship with Steward; and he was at all times acting as an owner of CREF in its role as a consultant to Steward in connection with the clean-up, design, and rebuild planning of Norwood Hospital after the storm. In short, the Special Master's order that "there shall be no blanket withholding of the Gendron communications, nor selective withholding based on the 'functional equivalent' or any other grounds," 281 at 7, is upheld. The Gendron documents must be produced forthwith and not later than September 7, 2026.(LTV)
The court need not repeat in detail the Discovery Master's well-founded findings which rely heavily on previous Orders upheld by this court. Her finding that communications including Robert Gendron, CEO of third-party consultant CREF, are not privileged under the "functional equivalent" doctrine are unassailable and will not be disturbed. As she found, there is a contemporaneous document between Gendron and Steward that "explicitly disclaims that Gendron's or CREF's role" creates any relationship between the two companies that would warrant the application of the "functional equivalent" doctrine; Gendron himself testified that he did not have the type of high-level decision-making authority that would warrant such a designation; Gendron was not in an employee or agency relationship with Steward; and he was at all times acting as an owner of CREF in its role as a consultant to Steward in connection with the clean-up, design, and rebuild planning of Norwood Hospital after the storm. In short, the Special Master's order that "there shall be no blanket withholding of the Gendron communications, nor selective withholding based on the 'functional equivalent' or any other grounds," 281 at 7, is upheld. The Gendron documents must be produced forthwith and not later than September 7, 2026.
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