Thomas E. Johnston and Thomas E. Johnston, Successor in Interest to Shirley L. Johnston, Deceased, et al. - Page 14




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          particular communications or documents rests with the party                 
          asserting the privilege.  Clarke v. Am. Commerce Natl. Bank,                
          supra at 129; Bernardo v. Commissioner, supra at 682.                       
               As previously indicated, one of the grounds on which                   
          respondent alleges that Mr. O’Keefe’s notes are not protected               
          here is that petitioners waived the privilege by claiming                   
          reliance on advice of counsel.  This contention invokes the                 
          doctrine of what is referred to as implied waiver.  Ideal Elec.             
          Sec. Co. v. Intl. Fid. Ins. Co., 129 F.3d 143, 151 (D.C. Cir.               
          1997); Home Indem. Co. v. Lane Powell Moss & Miller, 43 F.3d                
          1322, 1326 (9th Cir. 1995).  While the precise reach of the                 
          theory can be a subject of some controversy, courts typically               
          employ some version of one of several general approaches.  See,             
          e.g., Frontier Ref., Inc. v. Gorman-Rupp Co., 136 F.3d 695, 699-            
          700 (10th Cir. 1998) (cataloging various standards); Zenith Radio           
          Corp. v. United States, 764 F.2d 1577, 1579 (Fed. Cir. 1985)                
          (same).  These include the so-called automatic waiver rule, under           
          which a party automatically waives the privilege by asserting a             
          claim or defense to which otherwise privileged matter is                    
          relevant, see Indep. Prods. Corp. v. Loew’s Inc., 22 F.R.D. 266,            
          276-277 (S.D.N.Y. 1958); a balancing test that weighs the need              
          for discovery against the need to protect the secrecy of the                
          communication, see Greater Newburyport Clamshell Alliance v. Pub.           
          Serv. Co., 838 F.2d 13, 20-22 (1st Cir. 1988); the three-pronged            






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