Divorce case nudges Michigan court to tackle employee privacy in workplace e-mails

The Michigan Court of Appeals recently weighed in on a contentious divorce case that raised questions about employee privacy issues and has ramifications for the management of company e-mail systems.

Battle over contested e-mails in employer’s computer system

While pursuing a divorce case, Candice R. Stavale subpoenaed records from her husband’s employer, specifically e-mails contained within the company’s computer system. Here are their arguments:

• David A. Stavale stated his e-mails in the employer’s system were private and protected under the attorney-client privilege.
• His wife claimed he had no reasonable expectation of privacy for personal communications on the employer’s e-mail system, including messages sent to his lawyer.

Court’s analysis

In examining the case law discussing the element of confidentiality for the purpose of establishing the attorney-client privilege, the Michigan court looked at both Asia Global (a 2005 ruling by the U.S. District for the Southern District of New York) and Holmes (a 2011 California Court of Appeals decision). The Michigan court said it was inclined to follow Asia Global and Holmes because they struck an important balance between an individual’s right to privacy and an employer’s right to limit it in the workplace under certain circumstances and also recognized the indelible value of the attorney-client privilege to our legal system.