Reetz v. Lowe's Companies, Inc. et al

Filing 211

ORDER GRANTED in part and DENIED in part re 106 SEALED MOTION (Sealed - Attorney) to Compel Discovery from Defendant Aon Hewitt Investment Consulting, Inc. by Plaintiff Benjamin Reetz; (available to Administrative Committee of Lowe's Companies, Inc., Aon Hewitt Investment Consulting, I. Signed by Magistrate Judge David Keesler on 3/10/21. (mga)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
STATESVILLE DIVISION
CASE NO. 5:18-CV-075-KDB-DCK
BENJAMIN REETZ,
Plaintiff,
v.
LOWE’S COMPANIES, INC.,
ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE OF
LOWE’S COMPANIES, INC., and AON
HEWITT INVESTMENT CONSULTING,
INC.
Defendants.

)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)

ORDER

THIS MATTER IS BEFORE THE COURT on “Plaintiff’s Motion To Compel
Discovery From Defendant Aon Hewitt Investment Consulting, Inc.” (Document No. 106) filed
November 19, 2020. This motion has been referred to the undersigned Magistrate Judge pursuant
to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b), and immediate review is appropriate. Having carefully considered the
motion and the record, the undersigned will grant the motion in part and deny the motion in part.
The pending motion to compel seeks production of 28 documents from Defendant Aon
Hewitt Investment Consulting, Inc. (“Aon Hewitt”) that Plaintiff claims are subject to the fiduciary
exception to the attorney-client privilege. (Document No. 106); see (Document No. 124). The
undersigned previously considered this motion in an Order dated February 26, 2021, which granted
the motion in part as to 3 of the documents sought by Plaintiff and denied the motion in part as to
5 of the documents sought. (Document No. 206). The undersigned ordered that Plaintiff and Aon
Hewitt confer regarding the 20 documents for which a determination was not made about
application of the fiduciary exception to the attorney-client privilege. Id. at p. 27. The Order

Case 5:18-cv-00075-KDB-DCK Document 211 Filed 03/10/21 Page 1 of 3

indicated that if the parties could not reach agreement about production of the 20 documents still
at issue, Aon Hewitt would be required to submit the documents to the Court for in camera review
by March 8, 2021. Id. Aon Hewitt submitted 18 documents at issue to the Court for in camera
review after voluntarily producing 2 of the 20 documents at issue to Plaintiff.
The Court has conducted an in camera review of the documents that Aon Hewitt submitted.
For a description of the factual background regarding the pending motion to compel and a
description of the fiduciary exception to the attorney-client privilege, the undersigned directs
attention to this Court’s February 26, 2021 Order considering the pending motion to compel. See
(Document No. 206). Following a close review of the documents at issue, careful consideration
of the underlying briefs and record, and analysis of case law regarding the fiduciary exception to
the attorney-client privilege, the undersigned has determined that 4 documents are not subject to
the fiduciary exception to the attorney-client privilege and thus do not need to be produced, and
14 documents are subject to the fiduciary exception to the attorney-client privilege and therefore
must be produced, as detailed below.
IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED that “Plaintiff’s Motion To Compel Discovery From
Defendant Aon Hewitt Investment Consulting, Inc.” (Document No. 106) is GRANTED in part
and DENIED in part, as discussed herein.

Defendant shall either produce the following

documents that it is withholding or produce the following documents in unredacted form by
March 15, 2021: AON-PRIV-01126; AON-PRIV-01745; AON-PRIV-01799; AON-PRIV01242; AON-PRIV-00834; AON-PRIV-01255; AON-PRIV-01256; AON-PRIV-01915; AONPRIV-01460; AON-PRIV-01971; AON-PRIV-01370; AON-PRIV-00890; AON-PRIV-00792;
and AON-PRIV-01952. Defendant is not required to produce the following documents: AONPRIV-01737; AON-PRIV-01020; AON-PRIV-01890; and AON-PRIV-01962.

2
Case 5:18-cv-00075-KDB-DCK Document 211 Filed 03/10/21 Page 2 of 3

SO ORDERED.

Signed: March 10, 2021

3
Case 5:18-cv-00075-KDB-DCK Document 211 Filed 03/10/21 Page 3 of 3