Hunton Retail Law Resource

On November 9, 2016, Hunton & Williams LLP lawyers on the Retail and Consumer Products, Insurance and Corporate Litigation teams, Syed Ahmad, Shawn Regan and Shannon Shaw, published an article in Corporate Counsel discussing a recent decision from New York's highest court that may impact the exchange of information between retailers and third parties, such as vendors, that are engaged in a variety of transactions where privileged information may need to be shared. The article addresses the impact of Ambac Assurance v. Countrywide Home Loans, in which the New York Court of Appeals held that an attorney-client communication disclosed to a third party during the period between the signing and closing of a merger will remain privileged only if the communication relates to a common legal interest in a pending or anticipated litigation. The ruling represents a restrictive reading of the common interest doctrine despite a recent trend among federal and state courts to broaden the doctrine to remove any litigation requirement.