Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Disqualification — Movants Who Are Not Present or Former Clients Lack Standing to Seek Disqualification of Opposing Law Firm (Advocate-Witness Grounds)

Blacktail Mountain Ranch Co., LLC v. Jonas, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 13316 (9th Cir. July 30, 2015):

Appellants Edwin Jonas (Jonas) and his company, Blacktail Mountain Ranch Co. (Blacktail Mountain) (collectively, [*2]  Plaintiffs), appeal from the district court's dismissal of their action against Jonas' former wife Linda Jonas (Linda), the attorneys who represented her (collectively, the Attorney Defendants), the state-court appointed receiver, and the receiver's agents (collectively, the Receiver Defendants).

This case involves challenges to the validity and enforceability of a New Jersey judgment against Jonas for unpaid alimony and child support to Linda, among other obligations. Linda subsequently domesticated her judgment in Montana state court.

***

2. The district court acted within its discretion in denying Plaintiffs' motion to disqualify Defendants' counsel as advocates who were likely to be necessary witnesses. In any event, Plaintiffs lacked standing to move for disqualification because they were not clients or former clients of Defendants' counsel. See De Dios v. Int'l Realty & Investments, 641 F.3d 1071, 1077 (9th Cir. 2011).

Share this article:

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email

Recent Posts

(1) Appellate Review of Inherent Power Sanctions (7th Circuit): Factual Findings Reviewed for Clear Error, Choice of Sanction for Abuse of Discretion — 4-Element Test for Reversal; (2) Sanctions and Class Actions: Monetary Sanctions Properly Imposed on Defendants for Improper Communications with Class Members (Represented Parties) — “[I]f The Class And The Class Opponent Are Involved In An Ongoing Business Relationship, Communications From The Class Opponent To The Class May Be Coercive” (Good Quote); (3) Monetary Sanctions under Goodyear v. Haeger: If Same Fact-Gathering Would Have Been Conducted Absent The Misconduct, No But-For Causation — But Only “Rough Justice” Required, “Not Accountant-Like Precision” (Good Quote) — Once Misconduct Is Clear, Time Spent Ferreting It Out Compensable under Goodyear; (4) Goodyear Did Not Overrule Long-Standing Rule That Courts May Impose Modest Civil Monetary Sanctions to Curb Litigation Abuse; (5) Appellate Jurisdiction Lacking Where Sanctioned Attorney Fails to File Notice of Appeal and Lawyer’s Intent to Appeal Not Apparent from Client’s Notice; (5) Rule 11 Improper Purpose — Party May Have Many Purposes for Pursuing Claim — As Long As Claim Is Supported by Good Faith Belief in the Merits, “A Parallel Reason Does Not Violate Rule 11” — To Deny A Motion for Sanctions, The District Court Need Not Address Every Argument: “Arguments Clearly Without Merit Can, And For The Sake Of Judicial Economy Should, Be Passed Over In Silence” (Good Quote); Non-Monetary Sanction on Counsel: Complete Twice The Required Amount Of Professional Responsibility Hours For Her Next Continuing Legal Education Cycle Imposed By The State Bar

Archives