Pharmascience Inc. v. Pfizer Canada ULC

Pharmascience Inc. v. Pfizer Canada ULC

The settlement amounts are protected by settlement privilege; Pharmascience failed to establish a recognized exception (necessity or superordinate public interest) or that Pfizer waived privilege by disclosure; accordingly the redacted settlement amounts must remain privileged and the motion to compel unredacted production is dismissed.

Citation
2020 FC 1176
Parties
Plaintiff: Pharmascience Inc.; Defendant: Pfizer Canada ULC
Court
Federal Court
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
21 December 2020
Procedural Posture
Patented Medicines (notice of Compliance) Regulations Damages Action / Pre Trial: Motion to Compel Disclosure; Appeal of Prothonotary Disclosure Order; Trial Scheduled Feb 2021
Outcome
Motion dismissed; costs in any event of the cause.
Legal Topics
Settlement Privilege, Disclosure/discovery, Privilege Waiver, Relevance of Evidence, Damages Under NOC Regulations
Source Language
English
Intellectual Property Administrative Law Civil Procedure Evidence Settlement Privilege Disclosure/discovery Privilege Waiver Relevance of Evidence +1 more

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Parties

Pharmascience Inc.

Plaintiff

Pfizer Canada ULC

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Patented Medicines (notice of Compliance) Regulations Damages Action / Pre Trial: Motion to Compel Disclosure; Appeal of Prothonotary Disclosure Order; Trial Scheduled Feb 2021

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether settlement privilege protects settlement amounts in two settlement agreements
  2. 2 Whether an exception to settlement privilege applies (public interest, necessity)
  3. 3 Whether Pfizer waived settlement privilege by partial disclosure

Ratio Decidendi

The settlement amounts are protected by settlement privilege; Pharmascience failed to establish a recognized exception (necessity or superordinate public interest) or that Pfizer waived privilege by disclosure; accordingly the redacted settlement amounts must remain privileged and the motion to compel unredacted production is dismissed.

Court Disposition

Motion dismissed; costs in any event of the cause.

Orders

  • Motion dismissed, with costs in any event of the cause.