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****************************************************** The ``officially released'' date that appears near the beginning of each opinion is the date the opinion will be published in the Connecticut Law Journal or the date it was released as a slip opinion. The operative date for the beginning of all time periods for filing postopinion motions and petitions for certification is the ``officially released'' date appearing in the opinion. In no event will any such motions be accepted before the ``officially released'' date. All opinions are subject to modification and technical correction prior to official publication in the Connecticut Reports and Connecticut Appellate Reports. In the event of discrepancies between the electronic version of an opinion and the print version appearing in the Connecticut Law Journal and subsequently in the Connecticut Reports or Connecticut Appellate Reports, the latest print version is to be considered authoritative. The syllabus and procedural history accompanying the opinion as it appears on the Commission on Official Legal Publications Electronic Bulletin Board Service and in the Connecticut Law Journal and bound volumes of official reports are copyrighted by the Secretary of the State, State of Connecticut, and may not be reproduced and distributed without the express written permission of the Commission on Official Legal Publications, Judicial Branch, State of Connecticut. ****************************************************** WILLIAM A. OLSON v. ACCESSORY CONTROLS AND EQUIPMENT CORPORATION ET AL. (SC 16218)
Borden, Norcott, Katz, Palmer and Sullivan, Js. Argued June 2--officially released August 8, 2000 Counsel

Alan I. Scheer, with whom was Julie A. Morgan, for the appellant (plaintiff). Richard D. O'Connor, with whom were Glenn A. Duhl and, on the brief, Edward F. O'Donnell and George J. Kelly, Jr., for the appellee (named defendant).
Opinion

KATZ, J. This certified appeal raises two principal issues. First, we must determine the extent to which the attorney-client privilege applies to communications between counsel for a company and an environmental consulting firm retained by counsel to assist in responding to an order issued by the department of environmental protection. Second, we must determine whether, if privileged, the communications fall within the crime-fraud exception to the attorney-client privilege. The plaintiff, William Olson, appeals from the judg-

ment of the Appellate Court affirming the judgment of dismissal by the trial court following the trial court's grant of a protective order and motion in limine barring the use of communications between the expert environmental consulting firm retained by an attorney for the named defendant, Accessory Controls and Equipment Corporation.1 The plaintiff contends that: (1) the Appellate Court improperly determined that the communications in question were privileged; and (2) even if the communications were privileged, the Appellate Court improperly failed to apply the crime-fraud exception. We conclude that the Appellate Court properly affirmed the trial court's application of the attorneyclient privilege to the communications at issue in this case. We conclude further, as a matter of first impression, that communications otherwise covered by the attorney-client privilege lose their protected status when they are procured with the intent of furthering a civil fraud. Under the facts of this case, however, we conclude that the plaintiff did not meet his burden of establishing that the exception applies. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the Appellate Court. The record discloses the following relevant facts. In December, 1981, the plaintiff was employed by the defendant as an engineering technician in the defendant's Windsor plant. The defendant manufactured, among other products, air conditioning equipment, jet air starters and ground power units for airplanes. By 1985, the plaintiff, who had been promoted to plant manager, was responsible for the manufacturing operations. The plaintiff held this position at all times relevant to the present case. On October 11, 1989, the state department of environmental protection (department) conducted an on-site inspection of the defendant's Windsor plant. The department documented its findings in an inspection report that identified two areas of concern regarding hazardous waste discharge and storage activity. First, the inspection report noted bulges in an outside storage drum that contained potentially hazardous waste.2 Second, the inspection report documented that outdoor paint booth vents aimed at the ground were causing residue buildup and soil contamination. On January 30, 1990, the department issued an order to the defendant requesting information and a remedial plan concerning the storage, disposal and removal of hazardous waste at the plant. That order did not specifically identify the two areas of concern documented in the inspection report. Instead, the order reflected a broad mandate to: ``1. Bring all waste handling procedures and facilities into compliance with Connecticut's Hazardous Waste Management Regulations. 2. Effect the removal and proper disposal of all toxic, hazardous, and other industrial wastes now improperly stored onsite in a manner approved by the Commissioner of

Environmental Protection. 3. Investigate the degree and extent of groundwater, surface water, and soil contamination resulting from chemical and waste storage, handling and disposal activities at the [Windsor] site. 4. Take the necessary remedial actions to eliminate or minimize the contamination resulting from such activities.'' Accompanying the order was a notification letter, also dated January 30, 1990, addressed to the defendant's president indicating that Christie Wopschall-Flowers, a department staff member, would serve as the contact person to handle any questions regarding the order. After receiving the order and notification letter, the defendant engaged Carole W. Briggs, an attorney, to provide it with legal advice on how to proceed. In turn, Briggs hired Environmental Management and Compliance Corporation (Environmental Management), and its subcontractor, Soils Engineering Services, Inc. (Soils Engineering), to perform confidential services in anticipation of possible litigation between the defendant and the department. In particular, Environmental Management was hired to conduct an investigation and to provide the defendant and Briggs with information gathered from its examination of the plant property. Briggs also initiated correspondence with Wopschall-Flowers to determine an acceptable course of action to facilitate compliance. Briggs retained Environmental Management on or about February 27, 1990. As found by the trial court, the engagement letter soliciting the services of Environmental Management was ``replete with admonitions that all communications with respect to the [Environmental Management] employment between the president of [Environmental Management] and his office and with the law firm representing [the defendant] and between [Environmental Management] and any attorney, agent or employee acting for [the defendant] are to be confidential and made solely so that counsel for [the defendant] can give [the defendant] legal advice.'' In addition, the engagement letter, signed and acknowledged by Environmental Management's president, indicated that all papers prepared by Environmental Management would become the property of counsel for the defendant. Briggs met with Wopschall-Flowers on or about March 28, 1990, to discuss both the October, 1989 inspection report and the January, 1990 order, in an effort to devise an agreeable course of action regarding the defendant's voluntary compliance with the department's request. On or about June 7, 1990, Environmental Management and Soils Engineering issued a preliminary report to Briggs and the defendant concerning waste contamination at the Windsor plant. A copy of that report, which is referred to by the parties as the Diaz report, was sent to the plaintiff in his capacity as plant

manager. The Diaz report also contained information about areas of the plant that had not been identified in the department's inspection report. Briggs then identified, for the defendant and Environmental Management, those portions of the Diaz report that were not responsive to the department's inquiry. On June 22, 1990, Briggs sent Environmental Management a letter (Briggs notice) instructing it to stop working because of its refusal to tender separate reports regarding the different areas of the plant. The Briggs notice also reflected Briggs' position that the Diaz report should not be released to the department in its entirety. Thereafter, the defendant retained another environmental consulting firm, Environmental Laboratories, Inc. (Environmental Laboratories), to conduct a second evaluation of the Windsor plant. In compliance with the original order, the defendant then submitted that report to the department. The June 7, 1990 Diaz report was never submitted to the department. As stated by the Appellate Court, ``[t]hereafter, and according to the plaintiff's complaint, the defendant [Teleflex Lionel-DuPont S.A. (Teleflex)], a French corporation, acquired an ownership interest in [the defendant]. In February, 1992, Teleflex' representatives, Francois Calvarin and Alex Reese, visited the Windsor plant as part of a postacquisition review of [the defendant's] operations. While there, Calvarin and Reese questioned the plaintiff about [the defendant's] prior practices with regard to the storage and disposal of toxic and hazardous waste at the plant. Calvarin and Reese encouraged the plaintiff to cooperate with their investigation by promising the plaintiff that his communications with them would be confidential and would not be shared with [the defendant's] management. They further assured him that his communications with them would not be the subject of reprisal or other negative employment action. ``Relying on Calvarin and Reese's assurances, the plaintiff disclosed to them that there had, in fact, been improper storage and disposal of toxic and hazardous waste at the Windsor plant. The plaintiff further advised them of the existence of the June 7, 1990 Diaz report submitted to [the defendant] by Environmental Management and Soils Engineering. The plaintiff asserts that despite their assurances, Calvarin and Reese communicated to senior management [of the defendant] the information that the plaintiff had provided them. ``According to the plaintiff, upon learning of his disclosures to Calvarin and Reese, [the defendant] commenced a campaign of retaliation against the plaintiff with the apparent goal of forcing him to resign or, in the alternative, to provide [the defendant] with a justification for dismissing him. On February 12, 1993, following the unsuccessful campaign to force him to resign, [the defendant] dismissed the plaintiff under the pretext

that his position had been eliminated.'' Olson v. Accessory Controls & Equipment Corp., 54 Conn. App. 506, 510

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Connecticut Law