Disqualification Order Did Not Prevent Some Work By DQ-ed Counsel.
Yuba County Courthouse. 1933. Library of Congress.
Western Water Co v. Yuba County Water Agency, Case No. C072058 (3d Dist. Sept. 16, 2016) (unpublished) involved a fight over the scope of a water easement between plaintiff successor and the Agency. Plaintiff sued for multi-millions of dollars, claiming Agency took subsurface water without paying for it. Agency prevailed, with the lower court awarding fees against plaintiff and in favor of Agency.
Plaintiff appealed $112,777.40 in fees awarded to Agency for work by a prior disqualified counsel. The appellate court found that the disqualification cases relied on by plaintiff only applied in a client-attorney dispute over fees, not a prevailing party situation. It further determined that the disqualification order did allow for some limited consultation between disqualified counsel and Agency’s trial attorneys, such that the fees were properly allowed.