Ex Parte the Industrial Development Board of the City of Montgomery (In Re George E. Russell v. the Industrial…

Summary

The court granted the Industrial Development Board’s petition for a writ of mandamus and directed the trial court to prevent the plaintiffs from deposing the Board’s attorney, Thomas T. Gallion III. The court held that the party seeking a protective order bears the burden under the applicable discovery rules, but that the heightened counsel-deposition factors may be used to determine whether good cause exists; here, other sources supplied the requested information and the plaintiffs failed to show Gallion’s testimony was crucial. Justice Murdock, dissenting, would have denied mandamus because the trial court did not clearly exceed its discretion in allowing the deposition.