Lawyers for Mohawk Industries Inc. must give a former employee information they had argued was protected by attorney-client privilege, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.

A three-judge panel this week upheld a ruling by U.S. District Judge Harold L. Murphy ordering the Calhoun, Ga., carpet maker to turn over information related to conversations between former Mohawk shift supervisor Norman Carpenter and Mohawk counsel Juan P. Morillo.

The panel noted that, once a final judgment is entered, Mohawk may ask the appeals court to reconsider whether Murphy’s order unfairly allowed Carpenter’s lawyers access to privileged material.

(Cahoun-Times)