Unified Sewerage Agency of Washington County v. Jelco Inc.

646 F.2d 1339
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedJune 1, 1981
DocketNo. 78-1920
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 646 F.2d 1339 (Unified Sewerage Agency of Washington County v. Jelco Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Unified Sewerage Agency of Washington County v. Jelco Inc., 646 F.2d 1339 (9th Cir. 1981).

Opinion

GOODWIN, Circuit Judge.

Jelco moved to disqualify the plaintiff’s law firm on the theory that the attorneys were suing their own client in violation of Canons 4, 5 and 9 of the Code of Professional Responsibility of the State of Oregon (1980).1 The trial judge denied the disqualification motion and Jelco appealed.

We treat the appeal as a petition for mandamus.

Jelco, based in Salt Lake City, was the prime contractor on a sewer plant project in Oregon. Teeples & Thatcher was the subcontractor for concrete work, and Ace Electric Co. was an electrical subcontractor. Kobin & Meyer is a Portland law firm experienced in representing construction companies. Kobin & Meyer had represented Teeples & Thatcher for ten years prior to this litigation.

In 1975, a dispute arose between Ace Electric and Jelco over Ace’s claim for additional compensation under its subcontract. Ace contended that a change Jelco made in suppliers constituted a change in the terms of the subcontract. Jelco’s Salt Lake City counsel, one Beesley, and another Jelco agent contacted Paul Meyer of Kobin & [1343]*1343Meyer in mid-1975, and asked that firm to join in Jelco’s representation in the Ace Electric controversy.

Meyer told Beesley that Kobin & Meyer represented Teeples & Thatcher in what was then an embryonic dispute between Teeples & Thatcher and Jelco. Teeples & Thatcher’s expressions of dissatisfaction with Jelco’s scheduling and sequence of concrete work had reached the stage of lawyer discussions. Beesley nonetheless recommended to Jelco management that Kobin & Meyer be retained to assist in the Ace Electric litigation. Jelco’s management, with full knowledge of Jelco’s potential conflict with Teeples & Thatcher on the same project, and with full knowledge of Kobin & Meyer’s long-standing relationship with Teeples & Thatcher, retained Kobin & Meyer.

In mid-1976, after a proposed settlement of the Teeples-Jelco dispute collapsed, Meyer told Beesley that the Teeples-Jelco dispute could ripen into a lawsuit. Meyer asked Beesley, and through him, Jelco’s management, to re-evaluate whether Jelco wished Kobin & Meyer to continue to represent Jelco in the Ace Electric litigation. Meyer made it clear that if it came to a choice, Kobin & Meyer preferred to keep Teeples as a client. Jelco, through Beesley, replied unequivocally that it desired Kobin & Meyer to continue as counsel in the Ace litigation regardless of what happened in the Jelco dispute with Teeples & Thatcher.

The liability issues in the Ace litigation were tried in July 1976, and were determined adversely to Jelco. In December 1976, Kobin & Meyer filed an action for Teeples & Thatcher against Jelco.

In March 1977, with the damages issue in the Ace litigation still to be tried, Meyer again asked Beesley and Jelco’s house counsel if Jelco desired to have Kobin & Meyer continue to represent Jelco against Ace. Meyer repeated his firm’s expressed desire to avoid prejudicing Kobin & Meyer’s representation of Teeples. Jelco again decided to continue with Kobin & Meyer in the Ace litigation.

In May 1977, Jelco discharged Beesley, obtained new Salt Lake City counsel, and discharged Kobin & Meyer from the Ace Electric litigation as soon as a substitute attorney could take over that case. In December 1977, Jelco filed this motion to disqualify Kobin & Meyer from further representation of Teeples & Thatcher in the action against Jelco.

I. JURISDICTION

Denial of a motion to disqualify counsel is not an appealable order under the test set forth in Cohen v. Beneficial Loan Corp., 337 U.S. 541, 69 S.Ct. 1221, 93 L.Ed. 1528 (1949). Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. v. Risjord, 449 U.S.-, 101 S.Ct. 669, 66 L.Ed.2d 571 (1981); Chugach Elec. Ass’n v. United States D. C. for Dist. of Alaska, 370 F.2d 441 (9th Cir. 1966), cert. denied, 389 U.S. 820, 88 S.Ct. 40, 19 L.Ed.2d 71 (1967); Cord v. Smith, 338 F.2d 516, 521 (9th Cir. 1964), clarified, 370 F.2d 418 (1966). See also, United States v. State of Wash., 573 F.2d 1121, 1122 (9th Cir. 1978) (order denying motion to disqualify a judge is not appealable).

From time to time, however, this circuit has treated an appeal from a nonappealable order as a petition for a writ of mandamus and has undertaken discretionary review under the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651 (1976). Whether we will do so in a particular case depends upon whether the order qualifies for extraordinary relief under the guidelines set forth in Bauman v. United States Dist. Court, 557 F.2d 650 (9th Cir. 1977). Those guidelines are:

“... (1) The party seeking the writ has no other adequate means, such as a direct appeal, to attain the relief he or she desires .... (2) The petitioner will be damaged or prejudiced in a way not correctable on appeal.... (3) The district court’s order is clearly erroneous as a matter of law. ... (4) The district court’s order is an oft-repeated error, or manifests a persistent, disregard of the federal rules.... (5) The district court’s [1344]*1344order raises new and important problems, or issues of law of first impression.... ” (Citations omitted) 557 F.2d at 654-55.

The Bauman court emphasized that all factors would not be relevant in every case, and that the factors might point in different directions in any one case.

Mandamus relief is appropriate here.2 First, Jelco has no other adequate means of seeking relief. A denial of a motion to disqualify is not an appealable order, and this court has held that certification under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b) is not available. Trone v. Smith, 553 F.2d 1207 (9th Cir. 1977). Second, Jelco could suffer irremediable damage if forced to wait until after trial to appeal. Any advantage Kobin & Meyer possesses as a result of its representation of Jelco could be put to use at trial. Information once used or exposed would not be forgotten and could be used against Jelco on retrial. More important, the public perception of the profession could be damaged.

If the district court’s refusal to disqualify Kobin & Meyer is an error, it comes under the purview of review for errors of law.3

Finally, we note that this circuit has not heretofore addressed the issues raised in this case. They are important. The profession and the public will benefit by clear direction from this court. This case is, therefore, appropriate for mandamus relief.

II. THE MERITS

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Bluebook (online)
646 F.2d 1339, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/unified-sewerage-agency-of-washington-county-v-jelco-inc-ca9-1981.