Pa.’s ‘Mediation Privilege’ Does Not Apply to Info in Bad Faith Case, Federal Judge Rules

PITTSBURGH — Pennsylvania’s mediation privilege does not apply to some 1,000 pages of documents withheld by an insurer in a bad faith action because the insurer was not a party to the underlying action in which the mediation took place, a federal judge has ruled.

On Dec. 15, Judge Arthur J. Schwab of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania denied Selective Insurance Company of America’s motion to reconsider an earlier order requiring production of the documents, reiterating that they contain no statements that could be considered a “mediation communication.” In that earlier order, the judge also …