QUESTION
How far can the wife take this with our company?How much is too much before the company I work for can seek legal action of their own?
Asked on Oct 17th, 2013 on Civil Litigation - Tennessee
More details to this question:
I recently started working 4 a small business accounting co. 1 of our clients is going thru a divorce & has a small business. He is the 100% shareholder. He requested that we don't send his wife the corporate returns. His wife is a legal assistant at a law firm. She asked for their tax records. The owner of the accounting co. had me send their joint returns but told me to tell her that the corporate returns were sent 2 the shareholder. We got the husbands approval after the wifes divorce lawyer threatened us w/ subpoena, fines, etc. I received a subpoena 2 days ago requesting all of his tax records. We are putting a packet 2gether in hopes of getting out of the middle of this. All we have done is file his companies taxes for 5 years. He does his own books, payroll, etc. It seems as if we can only give what we have and after that it starts 2 border on harassment and prevents the normal operation of our business and the attention we need 2 give our other clients
1 ANSWER
You are required to provide all documents you have which are requested in a valid subpoena or other valid legal discovery device, or which your client directs you to produce. In many states (don't know about TN specifically), third parties can receive some compensation for expenses they incur in complying with a discovery request (e.g. copying costs), but it usually is a minimal amount.
Absent a valid subpoena, or authorization from your client, you are not required to produce anything. Indeed, you have a duty to your client to safeguard his privacy (although, for purposes of the joint tax returns, the wife could be considered your client) until and unless you are compelled to disclose information by legal process.
If a subpoena is served on you, you or your client can seek to quash the subpoena if you believe that it is improper. My advice would be not to litigate the validity of the subpoena, since that would cost you money and time, but rather to leave it to the husband to chalenge the subpoena if he wishes to. If he does, the Court will likely order you not to respond to the subpoena until its validity is determined.
Obviously, you cannot produce any documents which are not in your possession or control. Just produce what you can.
Answered on Oct 17th, 2013 at 1:34 PM