Court Opinion

ID: 9700687
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 21:44:27.885067+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:21:13.562225
License: Public Domain

Pickett, J.
(dissenting). There is no issue before the court as to the propriety of the trial court’s order as to Attorney Flaherty, since the record indicates that Attorney Moller agreed that “Mr. Flaherty cannot be in the case, and he has been removed from the ease.” As far as the order is directed to Attorney Moller, I dissent.
The trial judge found that “[t]here is no evidence that Attorney Moller knew of Flaherty’s past or that he acted improperly in any way.” In view of this uncontradicted finding, the ruling disqualifying Attorney Moller is in my opinion not supported. The case of Consolidated Theatres, Inc. v. Warner Bros. Circuit Management Corporation, 216 F.2d 920 (2d Cir. 1954), relied upon by the trial court, concerned the propriety of an attorney who formerly represented the defendants bringing an action for a plaintiff against his former client. Here, Moller never represented Avco nor its insurer USAIG. To disqualify counsel who has not acted improperly would in my opinion result in substantial prejudice to Corporate Air.
Finally, I have difficulty with the order remanding the case. The trial court judgment ordered “that no information, idea, strategy, or technique *518that was derived either directly or indirectly from Flaherty shall be passed on to successor counsel either directly or indirectly and that successor counsel shall not communicate with Flaherty or with anyone to whom Flaherty has given any information, ideas, strategy or techniques in regard to the present action.”
The remand provides that, “[t]o the extent that the order provided Flaherty and successor counsel shall not communicate directly or indirectly with each other, it was justified. Beyond that, the restrictions imposed by the court could not be enforced without, at the same time, severely and unnecessarily hampering Corporate Air’s ability to defend itself in the product liability litigation.” If successor counsel may communicate “with anyone to whom Flaherty has given any information, ideas, strategy or techniques in regard to the present action,” then the quarantine of Mr. Flaherty may well become one of form rather than substance.
Accordingly, I would find error and remand the case to affirm the order as to Attorney Flaherty but deny the motion to disqualify as to Attorney Moller.