Bousamra v. Excela Health, 179 A.3d 1079 (2018)

Jan. 30, 2018 · Supreme Court of Pennsylvania · No. 318 WAL 2017

179 A.3d 1079

George R. BOUSAMRA, M.D.
v.
EXCELA HEALTH, a Corporation; Westmoreland Regional Hospital, Doing Business as Excela Westmoreland Hospital, a Corporation; Robert Rogalski ; Jerome E. Granato, M.D., Latrobe Cardiology Associates, Inc., a Corporation; Robert N. Staffen, M.D.; Mercer Health & Benefits, LLC; and American Medical Foundation for Peer Review and Education, Inc., a Corporation.

Petition of: Excela Health, Westmoreland Regional Hospital, Robert Rogalski, Jerome E. Granato, M.D., and Latrobe Cardiology Associates, Inc.

No. 318 WAL 2017

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

January 30, 2018

ORDER

PER CURIAM

AND NOW, this 30^th day of January, 2018, the Application to File Ex Parte and Under Seal Volume II of the Reproduced Record and the Petition for Allowance of Appeal are GRANTED. The issues, as stated by Petitioners, are:

(1) Did the Superior Court commit an error of law when holding that a client waives the work-product protection of its counsel's pre-litigation e-mail by forwarding the e-mail to its public relations consultant?

(2) Did the Superior Court commit an error of law when holding that, to qualify as a privileged person within the attorney-client privilege, a third party must provide legal advice and have the lawyer or client control its work?