Justinian Capital Spc ex rel. Blue Heron Segregated Portfolio v. Westlb AG, New York Branch
| Decision Date | 27 December 2011 |
| Citation | 2011 N.Y. Slip Op. 09541,934 N.Y.S.2d 807,90 A.D.3d 585 |
| Parties | JUSTINIAN CAPITAL SPC, for and on behalf of BLUE HERON SEGREGATED PORTFOLIO, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. WESTLB AG, NEW YORK BRANCH, et al., Defendants–Respondents. |
| Court | New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Reed Smith LLP, New York (Mark L. Weyman of counsel), for appellant.
Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, New York (Christopher M. Paparella of counsel), for respondents.
Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Shirley Werner Kornreich, J.), entered May 18, 2011, which granted defendants' motion to disqualify Reed Smith LLP as counsel for plaintiff, unanimously affirmed, with costs.
The motion court providently exercised its discretion in granting the motion ( see Decana Inc. v. Contogouris, 27 A.D.3d 207, 810 N.Y.S.2d 453 [2006] ). In Bank Hapoalim B.M. v. WestLB AG, 82 A.D.3d 433, 918 N.Y.S.2d 49 (2011), we affirmed the disqualification of Reed Smith as counsel for the plaintiffs, including the plaintiff in this action, in a suit claiming that defendants had engaged in negligent and fraudulent conduct in mismanaging the plaintiffs' investments. Although the particular investment vehicles and legal claims at issue in this case are not identical to those in Bank Hapoalim, the cases are substantially related. The motion court correctly found that the meeting between defendants and the attorneys that later joined Reed Smith, which required disqualification in Bank Hapoalim, mandates disqualification in this case. Although there is no evidence that the investment vehicle at issue in this case was specifically discussed at the meeting, “doubts as to the existence of a conflict of interest must be resolved in favor of disqualification” ( Rose Ocko Found. v. Liebovitz, 155 A.D.2d 426, 428, 547 N.Y.S.2d 89 [1989] ).
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