All or most courts assessing deposition objections distinguish
between questions focusing on: (1) the occurrence of a privileged
communication; and (2) its content. Not surprisingly, that line can
sometimes be hard to draw.
In Jorjani v. New Jersey Institute of Technology, the
court overruled objections to the following questions, because they
simply sought "to elicit the fact of consultation, and if so,
when the consultation occurred": "Did you discuss
[plaintiff] with [your general counsel] at this time?";
"Did you seek legal advice in November of 2016, from [general
counsel]?" Civ. A. No. 18-11693 (WJM), 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS
67501, at *12-13 (D.N.J. Apr. 18, 2023). In contrast, the court
upheld an objection to the following question: "In April of
2017, were you discussing [plaintiff]'s OAQ compliance with
[in-house lawyers]?" Id. at *15. Thus, the court drew
the line between a privileged communication's general subject
matter (plaintiff) and more specific
