A former Louisiana State University (LSU) assistant athletic director’s attempt to procure depositions and reports from the university’s external law firm, Taylor Porter Brooks & Phillips LLP, has been thwarted following a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Sharon Lewis, the ex-assistant athletic director, had alleged that Taylor Porter conspired with LSU to suppress claims of sexual misconduct within the athletics department.
The Fifth Circuit’s ruling on Monday determined that the crime-fraud exception to attorney-client privilege does not apply to the attorneys and memorandums of Taylor Porter related to an external Title IX investigation into ex-football coach Les Miles. This decision overturns a prior lower court ruling that had allowed for the discovery of these documents and depositions.
Previously, Lewis’ lawsuit had seen its claims under the civil RICO statute dismissed. This latest judgment further narrows the scope of documents Lewis can access in her ongoing litigation against LSU. For more details on this development, the original report is available at Bloomberg Law.