Summary
The Supreme Court of Texas conditionally granted mandamus relief and held that counsel for Baylor Medical Center had to be disqualified. The court concluded that the representation required counsel to challenge advice given by his former law partner to Dr. Basco in a substantially related matter, implicating Texas Disciplinary Rule of Professional Conduct 1.09.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether Baylor's counsel, who had been a law partner of Basco's former attorney during the earlier representation, had to be disqualified because Baylor's defense would require questioning the validity of that prior representation.
- Whether mandamus relief was appropriate because the trial court's denial of disqualification could not be adequately remedied by appeal.
Holdings
- An attorney who was a member of a former law firm is disqualified from representing a current client against a former client when the matter requires questioning the validity of the former representation, even if the attorney had no personal connection with that former client or matter.
- Mandamus relief is available when a trial court improperly denies a motion to disqualify opposing counsel because an appeal does not provide an adequate remedy.
Key quotations
“When a trial court improperly denies a motion to disqualify opposing counsel, there is no adequate relief by appeal.” (639)
“Accordingly, without hearing oral argument, see TEX. R.APP. P. 52.8(c), we conditionally grant the writ of mandamus and direct the trial court to disqualify Stewart and his current firm.” (639)
Factual background
Dr. Basco sued Baylor after Baylor terminated his hospital privileges, alleging that the termination followed his report of negligence by hospital nurses. One ground for termination was Basco's failure to timely report a malpractice suit, which he said he failed to report on the advice of his attorney, Winston Borum. During the four years that matter was pending, James Stewart, who later became Baylor's counsel, was Borum's law partner. Stewart therefore would have to question Borum's advice and the validity of Borum's prior representation of Basco.
Procedural history
Dr. Basco sued Baylor Medical Center at Grapevine concerning the termination of his hospital privileges. He moved to disqualify Baylor's counsel, James Stewart, because Stewart had been a partner of Basco's former attorney, Winston Borum, during Borum's representation of Basco in an earlier malpractice matter. The trial court denied disqualification, and a divided court of appeals refused mandamus relief. The Supreme Court of Texas conditionally granted mandamus and directed the trial court to disqualify Stewart and his current firm.
Remand instructions
The trial court was directed to disqualify James Stewart and his current firm. The writ would issue only if the trial court failed to comply.