THE REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, ETC.
v.
BIRK HILLMAN CONSULTANTS, INC.
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A trial court properly exercises its discretion in disqualifying counsel when a prima facie case of conflict of interest is established and the firm cannot demonstrate the new associate has no actual knowledge of material confidential information.
[1] Once a moving party establishes a prima facie case for disqualification based on conflict of interest with a former client, the burden shifts to the firm whose disqualifi…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceTrinidad and Tobago appealed a non-final order from Miami-Dade County Circuit Court regarding the disqualification of counsel for defendant Birk Hillm…
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PER CURIAM.
Affirmed. See Moriber v. Dreiling, 95 So. 3d 449, 453 (Fla. 3d DCA
2012) (“[T]he disqualification of counsel is left to the sound discretion of the trial court, as long as such discretion is exercised within the confines of the applicable law and the trial court’s express or implied findings are supported by competent substantial evidence.”); State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins.
Co. v. K.A.W., 575 So. 2d 630, 634 (Fla. 1991) (recognizing the “irrefutable presumption that confidences were disclosed” in cases involving a direct conflict of interest with a former client and finding that actual proof of prejudice is not a prerequisite for disqualification of party counsel due to such a conflict); Gaton v. Health Coal., Inc., 745 So. 2d 510, 511 (Fla. 3d
DCA 1999) (“After the moving party meets its burden of establishing a prima facie case for disqualification . . . [t]he firm whose disqualification is sought must then demonstrate that their new associate has no actual knowledge of any confidential information material to the case. . . . The affidavits submitted in support of the disqualification motion clearly state that counsel for Gaton and Stiefel provided Lipton with ‘extensive background on all aspects of the case,’ ‘mental impressions on the entire matter,’ ‘strategies and how they impacted the future of the case,’ and
‘overall thoughts regarding liability, damages, and discovery of the case as a whole.’ This was sufficient to meet their burden of proof.”).
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. K.A.W., 575 So. 2d 630 (Fla. 1991)
- Gaton v. Health Coal., Inc., 745 So. 2d 510 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999)
- Moriber v. Dreiling, 95 So. 3d 449 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012)