The purpose of disqualification is not to punish a transgression of professional ethics. [T]he court has an independent interest in ensuring trials are conducted within ethical standards of the profession and that legal proceedings appear fair to all that observe them. Kennedy v. Eldridge (2011) 201 Cal.App.4th 1204-1205. Petrey Wholesale, Inc.s notice of joinder in the motion to disqualify is GRANTED as timely. Your subscription has successfully been upgraded. Great Lakes Construction, Inc. v. Burman (2010) 186 Cal.App.4th 1347, 1355. at 1358. H. F. Ahmanson & Co. v. Salomon Brothers, Inc. (1991) 229 Cal.App.3d 1445, 1454. The plaintiff,, Dismissal of 2 Zoning Ordinance Appeals in Georgia Court of Appeals, On behalf of FMG client, the City of Dacula, Amy Cowan successfully obtained the dismissal of two appeals before the Georgia Court of Appeals. try clicking the minimize button instead. Hahn Declaration The injury must be concrete and particularized, not hypothetical. Id. Sept. 14, 2020), the court decided a motion to disqualify brought by the defendant in a wage and hour class action. Adding your team is easy in the "Manage Company Users" tab. Your alert tracking was successfully added. FMG Attorney Michael Hill obtained affirmance of a summary judgment award on behalf of the City of Roswell and, Partners Michael Freed and Brian Goldberg Secure Appellate Win Affirming Dismissal of Plaintiffs Wrongful Foreclosure Claim, Richard Durham v. Aerial Funding, LLC, Case No. Mother provided further briefing. 17, 2020), the Central District of California decided a motion to disqualify brought by the defendant based on two grounds: (1) a purported conflict based on plaintiff's counsel's prior employment by the defendant; and (2) plaintiff's counsel's improper receipt of information, procured by communicating with defendant's managing agent in an alleged violation of the "no contact" rule. and consolidated case, at 1359. Great Lakes Construction, Inc. v. Burman (2010) 186 Cal.App.4th 1347, 1355. The district court therefore granted the motion to disqualify. She frequently lectures throughout the state on attorney ethics. Jeffrey E. Mitchell v. Stratus Media Group, Inc., et al. In ruling on a motion to disqualify, the court should weigh: Mills Land & Water Co. v. Golden West Refining Co. (1986) 186 Cal.App.3d 116, 126. Exchange v. Fireman's Fund . RULING: The motion is deni ..first amended complaint (FAC) on December 19, 2018. 9 Adding your team is easy in the "Manage Company Users" tab. As a result, these motions must be examined carefully to ensure that literalism does not deny the parties substantial justice. City of Santa Barbara v. Super. Motions to disqualify counsel are especially prone to tactical abuse because disqualification imposes heavy burdens on both the clients and courts: clients are deprived of their chosen counsel, litigation costs inevitably increase and delays inevitably occur. (Lead Case; Consolidated Action), Jeffrey Mitchell vs Stratus Media Group Inc et al, CLEVE PELL VS THE MONTEBELLO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT ET AL. 1370707 (2) NOTICE OF JOINDER; Discussion: Whether an attorney should be disqualified is a matter addressed to the sound discretion of the trial court. She focuses her practice on business litigation and representing lawyers and law firms. 17, 2020), the Central District of California decided a motion to disqualify brought by the defendant based on two grounds: (1) a purported conflict based on plaintiffs counsels prior employment by the defendant; and (2) plaintiffs counsels improper receipt of information, procured by communicating with defendants managing agent in an alleged violation of the no contact rule. Hahn Declaration Notice of Joinder CV1810311PADFMX, 2020 WL 2374947 (C.D. Plaintiff argues: plaintiff has been effectively abandoned by initial counsel, the Cable Gallagher firm; plaintiff has retained a new law firm to represent him in this action; and p ..e motion in the courts file. No. DOES 1 through 20, inclusive, Ramirez v. Sturdevant (1994) 21 Cal.App.4th 904, 915; People v. Prince (1968) 268 Cal.App.2d 398. Santa Barbara County Superior Court more or view all topics or full text. A client deprived of the attorney of his choice suffers a particularly heavy penalty where, as appears to be the case here, his attorney is highly skilled in the relevant area of the law. Gregori v. Bank of America ((1989) 207 Cal.App.3d 300. You will lose the information in your envelope, Ruling on Submitted Matter - re: Motion to Disqualify Counsel, PROCTOR-V-ECKO PRODUCTS GROUP ET AL Print. App. Brennan, No. Plaintiff Cleve Pell filed suit on October 16, 2017 against Defendants The Montebello Unified School District ..basis for the continuance. The motion to disqualify Defendants counsel is DENIED. Only a party who has (or has had) a fiduciary relationship with a lawyer has standing to disqualify the lawyer. Green Mutual Property & Investment Co., et al. TENTATIVE RULING: Bank v. Adams (2002) 96 Cal.App.4th 315, 327. more analytics for Wilfred J Schneider, Jr. ~CIV Minute Order - Motion to Disqualify Counsel 08/12/2020 - Motion to Di, ~CIV Minute Order - Motion to Disqualify Counsel 12/09/2019 - Motion to Di, ADRIANNE ADAMS vs WEST MARINE PRODUCTS, INC., A CALIFORNIA CORPORATION, Motion to Disqualify Counsel 04/27/2018 - Motion to Disqualify Counsel. We have notified your account executive who will contact you shortly. Sharon Collier prevailed on a motion to disqualify on behalf of client Costco. Ct. (2013) 221 Cal.App.4th 409, 449. App. County of Riverside. 4th 1197, 1204-1205. Lucy H. Koh. A complaining party who files a motion to disqualify is required to have standing. Lawyers, and sometimes courts, struggle with complicated questions about conflicts of interest. In 2009, Epic settled its claims against Ali 5 Corporation. Santa Barbara County Superior Court Before Trial (The Rutter Group 2016) 9:382. of Corp. v. SpeeDee Oil Change Systems, Inc. (SpeeDee) (1999) 20 Cal.4th 1135, 114546. a) Order compelling the Plaintiff to serve further responses to the Defendants form interrogatories; order imposing monetary sanctions. In short, it is widely understood by judges that attorneys now commonly use disqualification motions for purely strategic purposes. Gregori v. Bank of America (1989) 207 Cal.App.3d 300, 301. If both prongs of this test are satisfied, access to confidential information by the attorney in the course of the first representation (relevant, by definition, to the second representation) is presumed and disqualification of the attorneys representation of the second client is mandatory. Jun Ki Kim v. True Church Members of Holy Hill Community Church (2015) 236 Cal.App.4th 1435, 1454. If competent evidence does not establish such a conflict, the attorney is not disqualified for a conflict. Sharp v. Next Entertainment, Inc. (2008) 163 Cal.App.4th 410, 425-426. ATTORNEYS: 22 I. 6 We have notified your account executive who will contact you shortly. The plaintiff's counsel, Downtown Los Angeles Law Group attorney, Anthony Werbin, had previously done defense work for Costco. January 9, 2012 [W]here an attorneys continued representation threatens an opposing litigant with cognizable injury or would undermine the integrity of the judicial process, the trial court may grant a motion for disqualification, regardless of whether a motion is brought by a present or former client of recused counsel. Kennedy v. Eldridge (2011) 201 Cal.App.4th 1197, 1205. The result illustrated the impact of aggressive defense handling at the onset of litigation. January 9, 2012 When in doubt, consult with an expert who can help ascertain whether the salient facts and applicable authority support a motion for disqualification. 9 Your subscription was successfully upgraded. 43. The plaintiff was represented by counsel who had previously worked as an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA). Your subscription was successfully upgraded. While sanctions for an unsuccessful motion to disqualify are rare, clients (and their counsel) are best protected against the possibility of sanctions for bringing a frivolous motion to disqualify by thoughtfully and carefully researching and analyzing possible conflicts before moving to disqualify. App.). On March 1, 2019, Plaintiff filed an ex parte application to request an evidentiary hearing because the declaration of Dr. Mark Skvarna that was submitted in Plaintiffs ex parte application for a trial continuance may have contained a forged signature and been submitted without his k (1) MOTION TO DISQUALIFY COUNSEL; 3d 545]. Motion for: 1 - 2: SUSTAINED. Under the present rule, if a party is willing to accept less effective counsel because of the attorneys testifying, neither his opponent nor the trial court should be able to deny this choice to the party without a convincing demonstration of detriment to the opponent or injury to the integrity of the judicial process. Reynolds v. Super. Ct. (2004) 122 Cal.App.4th 17, 23. 22 I. Disqualification is only justified where the misconduct will have a continuing effect on judicial proceedings. Sheller v. Super. from Texas Tech University School of Law. Only a party who has (or has had) a fiduciary relationship with a lawyer has standing to disqualify the lawyer. (Defendants Ex Parte Application to Continue Trial, p. 2:18-19; Skvarna Declaration.) Proc., 128(a)(5). The only remaining Plaintiff is Green Mutual Property & Investment Co. of Corp. v. SpeeDee Oil Change Systems, Inc. (SpeeDee) (1999) 20 Cal.4th 1135, 114546. Ct., 177 Cal.App.3d 1021, 1028 (1986). Immediate review of the grant of a motion to disqualify is allowed because of a client's right to representation by counsel of the client's choice, Travco Hotels, Inc. v. Piedmont Natural Gas Co., Inc., 332 N.C. 288, 293, 420 S.E.2d 426, 429 (1992), whereas immediate review of an order granting a motion to compel production of information . 1 - 7: SUSTAINED. Proc., 128(a)(5). (2) Cross-Defendant W.L. 7 Your credits were successfully purchased. 114546.) Your subscription has successfully been upgraded. 279 Motions to disqualify counsel present competing policy considerations. In one recent out-of-state case, while denying a motion for disqualification in a patent infringement case, the court evaluated the opposing partys motion for sanctions based on the plaintiffs filing of a purportedly frivolous motion to disqualify. Is Attorney A out of luck and off the case? 10 1 - 7: SUSTAINED. A trial courts authority to disqualify an attorney derives from the power inherent in every court [t]o control in furtherance of justice, the conduct of its ministerial officers, and of all ..t yield to ethical considerations that affect the fundamental principles of our judicial process. (SpeeDee, supra, 20 Cal.4th at pp. In discussing the unique relationship between attorney and client, this court stated that The interest of the client in the successful prosecution or defense of the action is superior to that of the attorney, and he has the right to employ such attorney as will in his opinion best subserve his interest. On the one hand, a court must not hesitate to disqualify an attorney when it is satisfactorily established that he or she wrongfully acquired an unfair advantage that undermines the integrity of the judicial process and will have a continuing effect on the proceedings before the court. On the other hand, it must be kept in mind that disqualification usually imposes a substantial hardship on the disqualified attorneys innocent client, who must bear the monetary and other costs of finding a replacement. A trial court's decision on a disqualification motion is reviewed for abuse of discretion. RWJ ADVANCED MARKETING, LLC ET AL. 15 NINA YUAN, an individual, RICHWAVE [W]hile federal courts generally limit standing to bring disqualification motions to clients or former clients, in California where the ethical breach is manifest and glaring and so infects the litigation in which disqualification is sought that it impacts the moving partys interest in a just and lawful determination of [his or] her claims, a nonclient might meet the standing requirements to bring a motion to disqualify based upon a third party conflict of interest or other ethical violation. Kennedy v. Eldridge (2011) 201 Cal.App.4th 1197, 1204 [135 Cal. will be able to access it on trellis. 3 Motion to Disqualify Counsel Absent evidence of actual knowledge of material confidential information, both prongs of the test must be satisfied before a Court applies the conclusive presumption of knowledge of such information. ANALYSIS the principal that the fair resolution of disputes requires vigorous representation of parties by independent counsel. 392 42 MARCH 2009 CALIFORNIA LAWYER trade secrets and unfair competition. Plaintiff moves to recuse counsel for Defendants James Hyojin Ahn and Robert Ahn. Cross-Defendant W.L. Tentative Ruling In short, it is widely understood by judges that attorneys now commonly use disqualification motions for purely strategic purposes. Gregori v. Bank of America (1989) 207 Cal.App.3d 300, 301. Petrey Wholesale, Inc. 23 This action arises from a dispute over the settlement of an earlier lawsuit. The courts apply a two-pronged test to determine whether the court must conclusively presume that an attorney has knowledge of confidential information about a prior client that requires the court to disqualify the attorney from representing a current client adverse to the prior client. Plaintiff Julie Pavlina San Giorgio (Julie) has filed a motion to disqualify the firm of Farella Braun & Martel (Farella), counsel for Defendant and Cross-complainant Stephen Pavlina, Jr. (Stephen).1 USA Motion to Disqualify Defense Counsel, CR. 5 Only a party who has (or has had) a fiduciary relationship with a lawyer has standing to disqualify the lawyer. The purpose of disqualification is not to punish a transgression of professional ethics. The motion to disqualify Defendants counsel is DENIED. (Dino v 9 COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA NICOLE HEININGER VS STUDIO CORBEAU, INC., A CALIFORNIA CORPORATION,, ET AL. must be directed to the client. Here, Plaintiff has brought the motion to recuse Mr. Silver under Code of Civil Procedure section 284. Rules of Court, rule 3.1362(d). She is a co-vice chair and founding member of the Ethics Committee of the California Lawyers Association. A trial courts authority to disqualify an attorney derives from the power inherent in every court [t]o control in furtherance of justice, the conduct of its ministerial officers, and of all ..t yield to ethical considerations that affect the fundamental principles of our judicial process. (SpeeDee, supra, 20 Cal.4th at pp. On the one hand, a court must not hesitate to disqualify an attorney when it is satisfactorily established that he or she wrongfully acquired an unfair advantage that undermines the integrity of the judicial process and will have a continuing effect on the proceedings before the court. On the other hand, it must be kept in mind that disqualification usually imposes a substantial hardship on the disqualified attorneys innocent client, who must bear the monetary and other costs of finding a replacement. when new changes related to " are available. (Dino v 9 COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA 4th 1197, 1204-1205. Matters: (1) Motion of Defendants to Disqualify Gersh Derby as Counsel ..t attached as exhibit A to the motion is deemed served on the parties; plaintiffs shall file the first amended complaint, or arrange that the copy of the first amended complaint lodged with the court be filed, on or before January 13, 2012. Your alert tracking was successfully added. Your content views addon has successfully been added. Nature of Proceedings: Motion: Disqualify Counsel filed by Alma Del Pueblo Resp. A complaining party who files a motion to disqualify is required to have standing. Moving Party: Plaintiff Cleve Pell (Defendants Ex Parte Application to Continue Trial, p. 2:18-19; Skvarna Declaration.) In Kinchen v. Brennan, No. RESPONSE in Opposition re 29 MOTION to Disqualify Counsel for Millennial Media (Cooley LLP) MOTION to Disqualify Counsel for Millennial Media (Cooley LLP) filed by Millennial Media, Inc. (Attachments: # 1 Declaration of Chris C. Campbell, # 2 Exhibit 1 to Campbell Declaration, # 3 Declaration of Patrick A. Doody, # 4 Declaration of Kevin Todd Duncan, # 5 Declaration of Nelson Kuan, # 6 Exhibit A to Kuan Declaration, # 7 Exhibit B to Kuan Declaration, # 8 Exhibit C . A trial courts authority to disqualify an attorney derives from the power inherent in every court [t]o control in furtherance of justice, the conduct of its ministerial officers, and of all other persons in any manner connected with a judicial proceeding before it, in every matter pertaining thereto. People ex rel. California Code of Civil Procedure 170.6 CCP allows for a judge to be disqualified (or removed) from presiding over a civil case or a criminal trial if the judge is prejudiced against you or your attorney.. Ct. (1997) 60 Cal.App.4th 473, 577-582. A client deprived of the attorney of his choice suffers a particularly heavy penalty where, as appears to be the case here, his attorney is highly skilled in the relevant area of the law. 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