Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
Can I disqualify an attorney?
I am involved in a Civil Litigation case. I am the plaintiff in the matter and I am in pro-per now. The attorney for the defendant is married with another attorney whom I contacted in the past to ask her to handle my case. After I spent 2 hours on the phone with her she told me that she can't take my case because her husband who is also an attorney usually represents the company that I was trying to sue.
I was not aware of the conflict until she showed up at a Case Management Hearing replacing her sick husband. Her name seemed very familiar to me and I realized that i consulted with her a year prior to my law suit. She was shocked as well and when we went in front of the judge she asked the case to be continued because of conflict of interest. The judge granted the continuance.
My question is how can I ask the judge to disqualify the other attorney because he is married with an attorney that was very familiar with my case and claim?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Can I disqualify an attorney?
This area of the law is a bit unclear, but then so are the facts you provided. Does the wife work for the same firm as her husband, or was she simply making a "special appearance" on his behalf? Either way you should be able to disqualify the wife. You may only be able to disqualify the husband (and anyone else in his firm) if he and his wife are part of the same firm. If she is not part of his firm, the connection may be too slight to justify disqualifying him. The court won't presume from the fact that they are married that they shared confidential information about you, but it probably would make that presumption if they are part of the same firm.
Alternatively, if you can show that the wife actually discussed confidential aspects of your case with the husband, you may be able to have him disqualified.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
