Although a court generally may not look beyond the averments in a complaint in deciding a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, it can look at public records, including judicial proceedings, in addition to the allegations in the complaint. Specifically, on a motion to dismiss, the court may take judicial notice of another court’s opinion not for the truth of the facts recited therein, but for the existence of the opinion, which is not subject to reasonable dispute over its authenticity.

The district court did not err in dismissing a complaint based upon its conclusion that a bankruptcy court's prior sale order was preclusive as to the claims asserted in the complaint. Where the claims in a complaint generally attack the value of the debtor's assets, such claims go to the heart of a sale order and thus are claims that "should have been" brought in the context of a sale.

Although a party is required to disclose a testifying expert's report and all data or information considered by the expert in preparing the report, this rule does not require disclosure of prior drafts of the report prepared by the expert.

A testifying expert does not have to produce documents which are protected as core attorney work product (i.e., which reflect the attorney's mental impressions and trial strategy). Rule 26 disclosures by testifying experts do not trump the attorney work product doctrine. Attorney work product continues to be protected by Rule 26 even if it is shared with a testifying expert. Factual information delivered to an expert by an attorney however, can be discoverable.

Where a witness uses a document to refresh his recollection before testifying, disclosure of that document is not automatic, but is within the court's discretion. Such discretion must take account of any applicable privilege pertaining to the document.

When co-clients and their common attorneys communicate with one another, those communications are "in confidence" for privilege purposes. Hence the privilege protects those communications from compelled disclosure to persons outside the joint representation. Moreover, waiving the joint-client privilege requires the consent of all joint clients.