The Duplan Corporation v. Moulinage Et Retorderie De Chavanoz, Deering Milliken, Inc.

FIELD, Circuit Judge:

We entertained this appeal upon the narrow question whether upon the termination of litigation the work product documents prepared incident thereto lose the qualified immunity extended to them under Rule 26(b)(3), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 1 and become freely discoverable in subsequent and unrelated litigation.

In this multidistrict patent-antitrust proceeding, resolution of this question is of vital importance with respect both to depositions and requests for production of documents. 2 The district judge initially concluded “that once the privilege attaches it…