Perez v. Kirk & Carrigan
Court of Appeals of Texas
822 S.W.2d 261 (1991)
Ruben Perez (plaintiff), a truck driver, was involved in a collision with a school bus that killed 21 children; his employer's law firm, Kirk & Carrigan (defendants), met with him in the hospital, told him they represented him as well as his employer, and took a sworn statement while assuring him it would remain confidential. When Perez was later criminally charged, the firm arranged separate defense counsel for him but, allegedly under subpoena threat, turned over his hospital statement to the district attorney, contributing to his indictment for involuntary manslaughter. Perez sued the firm and its attorneys for breach of fiduciary duty and emotional distress; the trial court granted summary judgment for the defendants, and Perez appealed.
Whether an attorney's disclosure of a statement made under a promise of confidentiality may amount to a breach of fiduciary duty even where the circumstances of the statement would not have supported application of the attorney-client evidentiary privilege.