Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. v. State Corp. Commission

Spencer, J.:

On May 30, 1980, Southwestern Bell Telephone Company (SWB) filed its application with the Kansas Corporation Commission (Commission) for a general rate increase. In preparation of the case, SWB and the Commission’s staff entered into an agreement for the production of documents on discovery. Pursuant to this agreement, certain documents SWB considered confidential and proprietary (trade secrets) were made available to the staff.

At a preliminary conference on November 3, 1980, staff gave notice, pursuant to the agreement, of intent to use certain of the documents during public…