DENISE MARIE THERRIAULT, APPELLANT,
v.
JOHN CHARLES BERGHMANS, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The court held that the trial court departed from the essential requirements of law by granting the motion to disqualify the former wife's counsel.
[1] Disqualification of a party's chosen counsel is an extraordinary remedy that should be resorted to only sparingly.
[2] A lawyer shall not act as advocate at a trial in which the lawyer is likely to be a necessary witness on behalf of the client.
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe former husband moved to disqualify the former wife's counsel, alleging improper discussion with the child, that counsel would be a material witnes…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Motion To Disqualify Counsel cases and more on FLexlaw
STRINGER, Judge.
The former wife, Denise M. Therriault, seeks a writ of certiorari to quash an order disqualifying her counsel, Jeffrey S. Ger-ow. We conclude that the trial court departed from the essential requirements of the law and therefore grant the writ.
This case arose from postdissolution of marriage proceedings. The former wife had pending before the trial court several motions, including two motions for contempt and an emergency motion for restraining order. The former husband, John C. Berghmans, also had several motions pending before the court, including a supplemental petition for modification of child visitation and a motion to disqualify the former wife’s counsel. A hearing was set on all pending motions, and the trial court determined that it would first hear the motion to disqualify.
At the hearing, the former husband raised three arguments for the disqualification of the former wife’s counsel.
First, the former husband argued that Mr. Gerow improperly discussed relocation with the parties’ minor child.
Second, the former husband argued that Mr. Gerow would be a material witness in the former husband’s challenge to the validity of the settlement agreement entered into by the parties.
Third, the former husband asserted that Mr. Gerow gave him improper legal advice and misled him. After hearing testimony, the trial court granted the motion for disqualification.
The trial court did not make specific findings of fact.
“Disqualification of a party’s chosen counsel is an extraordinary remedy that should be resorted to only sparingly.” Arcara v. Philip M. Warren, P.A., 574 So. 2d 325, 326 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991). We find that none of the arguments raised by the former husband justify the imposition of this extraordinary remedy in this case.
The former husband’s first argument for disqualification was based on allegations that Mr. Gerow had improperly discussed relocation with the parties’ minor child. There, however, was no evidence presented at the hearing as to any improper statements Mr. Gerow made to the minor child. Thus, the record does not support the disqualification on this basis.
The second basis argued by the former husband was that Mr. Gerow would likely be a material witness in his challenge to the parties’ settlement agreement on the basis of fraud. In this case, the former wife sought to relocate with the minor child to Boca Raton, Florida. The settlement agreement the parties’ entered into allowed the former wife to move anywhere within Florida. Mr. Gerow represented the former wife during the negotiation of the settlement agreement. The former husband challenged the former wife’s proposed relocation and argued that Mr. Gerow would be a material witness in his challenge to the settlement agreement. The former husband asserted that, pursuant to Rule Regulating the Florida Bar 4-3.7, Mr. Gerow could not act as the former wife’s advocate at trial.
Rule 4-3.7 provides that a “lawyer shall not act as advocate at a trial in which the lawyer is likely to be a necessary witness on behalf of the client.” We agree that Mr. Gerow could potentially be a material witness in a challenge to the parties’ settlement agreement.
However, the disqualification in this case was premature because it is does not appear from the record that the former husband has formally raised a fraud claim in an actual motion nor has Mr. Gerow been deposed as to what his testimony will be on that issue. See Singer Island Ltd., Inc. v. Budget Constr. Co., 714 So. 2d 651 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998) (holding that trial court properly denied motion to disqualify where movant only showed a mere possibility that disqualification may be necessary and counsel had not been deposed to determine if his testimony would support a motion to disqualify).
The third basis argued by the former husband for disqualification was that Mr. Gerow gave him improper legal advice and misled him. The allegations stem from numerous letters exchanged between Mr. Gerow and the former husband during a period when the former husband was unrepresented by counsel.
We agree that many of the letters and comments were improper. See R. Regulating Fla. Bar 4-4.3 (stating that in dealing on behalf of his or her client, a lawyer should not give advice to an unrepresented person other than the advice to obtain counsel).
However, while Mr. Gerov/s conduct may have been cause for disciplinary action, we find that his actions did not justify the imposi tion of the extraordinary remedy of disqualification. There was no showing that an unfair advantage was gained or that the former husband suffered injury as a result of Mr. Gerow’s conduct.
Moreover, since the former husband is now represented by counsel, it appears from the record that the conduct has stopped.
We find that the trial court departed from the essential requirements of the law in granting the disqualification in this case. Our holding does not preclude the former husband from seeking disqualification upon establishing, with record evidence, that Mr. Gerow’s testimony will be adverse to the former wife or will place the former husband at a disadvantage in a claim pending before the trial court.
Accordingly, we grant the petition for writ of certiorari.
PATTERSON, A.C.J., and FULMER, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Selina Akrey v. Kindred Nursing Ctrs. E., L.L.C., 837 So. 2d 1142 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003)…n of counsel is a matter uniquely suited for review by cer-tiorari because it is an extraordinary remedy that should be used most sparingly. Legion Ins. Co. v. Bank of America, N.A., 807 So. 2d 690 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002) (citing Therriault v. Berghmans, 788 So. 2d 1119 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001)). The effect is for a party to be denied counsel of its choice, a material injury without appellate remedy. Therefore, upon a showing that the order departed from the essential requirements of law, a reviewing court can issue the…
-
Lewis v. Nical OF Palm Beach, Inc., 959 So. 2d 745 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007)…der to the extent that it disqualifies the Boies, Schiller & Flexner firm from further representing the Nical parties in this, litigation. While we recognize that disqualification of counsel is an “extraordinary remedy,” see Therriault v. Berghmans, 788 So. 2d 1119, 1120 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001), having reviewed the extensive record in this case, we cannot agree with the Nical parties’ claim that such a sanction was too harsh and thus an abuse of discretion. See Forbes v. State, 988 So. 2d 706, 713-14 (Fla. 4th DCA…
-
Alliedsignal Recovery Tr. v. Alliedsignal, Inc., 934 So. 2d 675 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006)…Stewart was a necessary witness for AlliedSignal, was likely to be an “unsworn witness” at trial, and that any conflict waiver by the Trust was unreasonable. Disqualification is an extraordinary remedy to be used sparingly. Therriault v. Berghmans, 788 So. 2d 1119, 1120 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001); Arcara v. Philip M. Warren, P.A., 574 So. 2d 325, 326 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991). Disqualification is an “immensely unusual remedy.” Whitener v. First Union Nat’l Bank of Fla., 901 So. 2d 366, 370 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005). An order dis…
Previewing 3 of 7 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Bonfiglio v. Hampton, 574 So. 2d 325 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991)
- Singer Island Ltd., Inc. v. Budget Constr. Co., Inc., 714 So. 2d 651 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998)