State ex rel. Butler County Children Services Board v. Sage

In May 1999, James Hughes, Sharon Hughes, and their minor daughter, Mary Hughes, filed a complaint in the Butler County Court of Common Pleas alleging that appellant, Butler County Children Services Board (“BCCSB”), and certain of its employees had committed defamation and various other tortious *24acts. The plaintiffs filed a motion to compel BCCSB and the other defendants to produce a protective-service referral form that BCCSB claimed was privileged. The form included child-abuse allegations. The plaintiffs alternatively requested that the common pleas court conduct an in camera inspection of…