DQ Developments — Lawyer Disqualification Affirmed by Third DCA, DQ of Firm Denied

“Third DCA Affirms Disqualification of Lawyer” —

• “Florida’s Third District of Appeal upheld Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Lisa Walsh’s order disqualifying plaintiff’s attorney Tim Taylor for representing defendant Taras S. Diakiwski’s surety in a related dispute.”
• “The case originated from a 2015 lawsuit between contractor Diakiwski and the defendant, Craft Construction Co. The plaintiff claims he is entitled to $1.4 million in profits from the Boca Beach House Project, which he allegedly helped secure during his seven-month employment with Craft Construction. After a jury trial found Craft Construction liable, a separate trial will determine the amount of damages.”
• “Berkley Surety Group was the primary surety on Craft Construction’s projects. In 2023, the Boca Beach House’s owner entered into a dispute with Craft Construction and sent a ‘consideration of default’ letter to Craft Construction and its surety, Berkley.”
• “According to the defendants, after Berkley and Craft Construction received the letter, they began meeting to strategize a response and those meetings were conducted under a joint representation agreement. However, Taylor of Taylor Corwin & Van Cleaf accepted representation of Berkley, and the situation escalated when he appeared at a Zoom meeting with Craft Construction’s principal, who became irate.”
• “Taylor abruptly left the meeting and later withdrew as Berkley’s counsel.”
• “Craft Construction, in filing a motion to disqualify plaintiff’s counsel because in the case regarding the $1.4 million disgorgement, alleged that Taylor violated the Florida Rules of Professional Conduct.”
• “According to the order, the evidentiary hearings on the motion showed that Craft Construction’s lawyers acted as Berkley’s lawyers through a joint representation agreement and attorney-client privileged information was shared between Craft Construction, Craft Construction’s lawyers and its Berkley.”
• “Furthermore, Walsh pointed out how the joint representation of Berkley and Craft Construction occurred on a matter related to the case.”
• “‘It is an inescapable inference that confidential information openly shared for months between CCC, its lawyers and Berkley was relayed to Taylor during his brief stint as Berkeley’s lawyer,’ Walsh, referring to Craft Construction, ruled, and in doing so, granted the attorney’s disqualification.”
• “On Wednesday, the Third DCA affirmed the ruling.”
• “‘We are pleased that the appellate court has affirmed the trial court’s well-reasoned disqualification Order, which was factually necessary and legally required to do justice and uphold the Florida Rules of Professional Conduct,’ said Frank Murray, with Stumphauzer Kolaya Nadler & Sloman, who represents the defendant. ‘We look forward to continuing our pursuit of justice in this case.’”

“Judge Rejects DQ Of Smith Gambrell In Defamation Suit” —

• “A New York federal judge denied a former Major Lindsey & Africa recruiter’s bid to disqualify Smith Gambrell from representing Major Lindsey in the employee’s $75 million federal defamation suit, saying the request wasn’t ripe for consideration yet.”
• “In a memorandum opinion and order signed Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Gregory H. Woods of the Southern District of New York declined Sharon Mahn’s request to disqualify Smith Gambrell & Russell LLP from representing her onetime employer in the suit she filed in November under the so-called witness-advocate rule. Judge Woods did so without prejudice, saying in the opinion that Mahn’s bid for disqualification on the grounds that attorneys from the firm would have to testify in the case was made too early.”
• “‘Plaintiff’s motion for disqualification is, at a minimum, premature. The witness-advocate rule only requires disqualification of an attorney if the movant establishes that the attorney’s testimony is necessary to trial and is substantially likely to be prejudicial to their client,’ Judge Woods said. ‘Because plaintiff has not carried her burden of demonstrating that testimony from defendants’ counsel would prejudice defendants’ case, plaintiff’s motion to disqualify defendants’ counsel is denied.’”
• “Mahn filed the motion to disqualify in January, arguing that three attorneys from Smith Gambrell were key witnesses to help determine liability. Mahn told the court that the attorneys ‘literally lied’ in an underlying action and would therefore be needed to testify as to the impetus for the alleged misrepresentations.”
• “Bad blood between Mahn and the recruitment firm goes back at least to 2009, court records show, when Major Lindsey fired Mahn. The recruiter later sued over allegations that Mahn exchanged trade secret information with firm competitors for monetary kickbacks. That suit was dropped to enter arbitration, which resulted in a $2.9 million arbitral award for Major Lindsey.”
• “But, Judge Woods said it was not yet appropriate to disqualify the firm’s attorneys from representing Major Lindsey. To do so under the witness-advocate rule, one would have to show that they would have to testify and in doing so they were likely to harm the defendant’s case, and Mahn hadn’t shown that yet, the opinion said.”
• “‘At this early stage in the case, there is little, if any, evidence on the record to suggest that testimony from defendants’ counsel would be materially inconsistent with defendants’ case at trial,’ he said. Because Mahn hadn’t yet shown that the attorneys would need to provide testimony likely to hurt their client, Judge Woods refused her request to disqualify the firm while leaving the issue open for later consideration, his opinion said.”