Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Jones

• Decision Date: 14 December 2005
• Docket Number: No. 3D04-3256.,3D04-3256.
• Citation: 929 So.2d 1081
• Parties: GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY, Appellant, v. Ronnie JONES and Sylvia Jones, Appellees.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

Page 1081

929 So.2d 1081

GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY, Appellant, v. Ronnie JONES and Sylvia Jones, Appellees.

No. 3D04-3256.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.

December 14, 2005.

Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc Denied March 28, 2006.

Thornton, Davis & Fein, Kathleen M. O'Connor and Frederick J. Fein, Miami, for appellant.

Lauri Waldman Ross; Gonzalez & Walsh and Lisa Walsh, Miami, for appellees.

Before LEVY, GERSTEN, and ROTHENBERG, JJ.

ROTHENBERG, Judge.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (Goodyear) appeals an order vacating a confidentiality order, and the denial of its motion requesting an in-camera inspection of documents previously covered by the confidentiality order. Additionally, Goodyear asks this court to declare the Sunshine in Litigation Act ("Act" or "Sunshine in Litigation Act") unconstitutional. We affirm.

The case arose out of an explosion of a Goodyear Unisteel tire, which injured the plaintiff, Ronnie Jones. During the course of litigation, Goodyear objected to production requests made by the plaintiffs, arguing that the requests were overbroad, burdensome and vague, and not limited in scope to tires substantially similar to the one involved in the lawsuit. A special master was appointed to decide the issue. The special master conducted three hearings and ultimately determined that Goodyear should be required to produce the requested documents.

After being required to produce the documents, Goodyear sought to have a confidentiality order entered to prohibit the plaintiffs from disclosing to others the documents obtained during discovery. Goodyear asserted that the documents were trade secrets. The parties' attorneys communicated through a number of letters concerning the propriety of a confidentiality order and its potential content. On September 7, 1999, the plaintiffs' attorney sent a letter to Goodyear's attorney stating that he was not convinced that the documents in question were in fact trade secrets, and suggested that Goodyear file the documents with the special master for a determination of whether they were entitled to trade secret protection. Goodyear did not do so. Thereafter, the plaintiffs objected to Goodyear's motion for a confidentiality order, arguing that the documents were not trade secrets and not subject to a confidentiality order as the documents concerned a public hazard (Goodyear Unisteel tires), thereby prohibiting concealment by court order under the Sunshine in Litigation Act.

The trial court, however, held that a determination that the tires constituted a public hazard was premature; indicated that if the plaintiffs prevailed in the action, the court would permit the documents to be made public under the Sunshine in Litigation Act; and granted the confidentiality order, prohibiting disclosure of the documents in question to anyone not involved in the litigation.

The case was ultimately tried, resulting in a jury verdict in favor of the plaintiffs. The trial court, however, entered a directed verdict and granted a new trial. On appeal, the plaintiffs argued that the trial court erred in directing the verdict and requested this court to reinstate the jury's verdict and to vacate the confidentiality order issued by the trial court. This court agreed with the plaintiffs and ordered that the jury's verdict be reinstated and that the confidentiality order be vacated pursuant to the Sunshine in Litigation Act. Jones v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 871 So.2d 899, 906 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003). Specifically, we stated "we remand with the additional instruction that the pre-trial confidentiality order be vacated." Id.

On remand, Goodyear sought a hearing and an in-camera inspection of the documents covered by the confidentiality order. Goodyear asserted that the Sunshine in Litigation Act does not require the documents to be made public as (1) the documents are trade secrets; and (2) they do not pertain to the make and model of tire at issue in the Jones's suit and, therefore, disclosure is not required under the Sunshine in Litigation Act. Alternatively, Goodyear sought a hearing on the constitutionality of the Sunshine in Litigation Act, arguing that application of the Act to require disclosure of confidential trade secret documents without an in-camera hearing would violate its due process rights.

The trial court found that it lacked jurisdiction to conduct an in-camera inspection or to set a hearing on whether the Act is constitutional. Therefore, it denied the defendant's motion to conduct an in-camera inspection or to hold a hearing on the constitutionality of the Act, vacated the confidentiality order, and stayed the vacation of the order pending appellate review. This appeal follows.

Subsection (3) of The Sunshine in Litigation Act provides:

Except pursuant to this section, no court shall enter an order or judgment which has the purpose or effect of concealing a public hazard or any information concerning a public hazard, nor shall the court enter an order or judgment which has the purpose or effect of concealing any information which may be useful to members of the public in protecting themselves from injury which may result from the public hazard.

§ 69.081(3), Fla. Stat. (2004).

Subsection (5) of the Act provides:

Trade secrets as defined in s. 688.002 which are not pertinent to public hazards shall be protected pursuant to chapter 688.

§ 69.081(5), Fla. Stat. (2004).

Subsection (7) provides:

Upon motion and good cause shown by a party attempting to prevent disclosure of information or materials which have not previously been disclosed, including but not limited to alleged trade secrets, the court shall examine the disputed information or materials in camera. If the court finds that the information or materials or portions thereof consist of information concerning a public hazard or information which may be useful to members of the public in protecting themselves from injury which may result from a public hazard, the court shall allow disclosure of the information or materials. If allowing disclosure, the court shall allow disclosure of only that portion of the information or materials necessary or useful to the public regarding the public hazard.

§ 69.081(7), Fla. Stat. (2004).

Goodyear argues that it was denied due process because a hearing and an incamera inspection were never conducted pursuant to subsections (5) and (7) of the Act to determine whether the documents covered by the protective order contain trade secrets not pertinent to the tire deemed to be a public hazard, or whether disclosure of the documents is necessary or useful to the public. The plaintiffs, however, argue that if the absence of a hearing and an in-camera inspection was error, it was caused by Goodyear who obtained the benefit of a confidentiality order without a hearing. The plaintiffs also argue that, in vacating the confidentiality order, the trial court was performing a purely ministerial function over which it had no discretion, and that it was required to comply with this court's mandate instructing it to vacate. We agree with the plaintiffs and conclude that Goodyear waived its right to the hearing it now requests.

The Sunshine in Litigation Act prohibits a court from entering an order which conceals a public hazard. § 69.081(3), Fla. Stat. (2004). When Goodyear moved for a confidentiality order, the plaintiffs responded that the Goodyear Unisteel tires constituted a public hazard under the Sunshine in Litigation Act, thereby precluding a confidentiality order restricting the information. Rather than determining whether the tires were a public hazard under the Sunshine in Litigation Act, and then determining whether any exception to the Act applied, the trial court entered the blanket confidentiality order sought by Goodyear, making all of the documents in question confidential until the jury made a determination regarding the tires in question.

We conclude that the trial court erred by issuing the order sought by Goodyear without first holding a hearing to determine which documents related to the claimed public hazard and if any of the documents related to a trade secret. The Act prohibits any court from entering an order that has the effect of concealing a public hazard. Thus, the trial court should have determined whether its order would have had such an effect prior to entering the order, rather than deferring until after trial. We also conclude that because Goodyear invited the error, and enjoyed the benefits of the invited error for the past five years, it may not now seek to remedy the error on appeal. See Gupton v. Vill. Key & Saw Shop, 656 So.2d 475, 478 (Fla.1995)(explaining that "a party cannot successfully complain about an error for which he or she is responsible or of...