SER Ogden Newspapers v. Wilkes
Annotate this Case
September 1996 Term
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No. 23470
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STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA EX REL. THE OGDEN NEWSPAPERS, INC.,
DBA THE (MARTINSBURG) EVENING/WEEKEND JOURNAL,
AND OGDEN DIRECTORIES, INC.,
Petitioners
v.
HONORABLE CHRISTOPHER C. WILKES, JUDGE OF THE
CIRCUIT COURT OF BERKELEY COUNTY, ROBIN WILKINSON,
ROBERT FELTER, ALFRED W. SINE, ET AL.,
Respondents
________________________________________________________________
WRIT OF PROHIBITION
WRIT GRANTED AS MOULDED
________________________________________________________________
Submitted: September 10, 1996
Filed: December 13, 1996
Robert M. Steptoe, Jr., Esq. Robert J. Schiavoni, Esq.
Rodney L. Bean, Esq. David M. Hammer, Esq.
Steptoe & Johnson Hammer, Ferretti & Schiavoni
Clarksburg, West Virginia Martinsburg, West Virginia
Attorneys for the Petitioners Attorneys for the Respondents
The Opinion of the Court was delivered Per Curiam.
JUDGE RECHT, sitting by temporary assignment.
JUSTICE CLECKLEY dissents, in part, and concurs, in part, without reserving
the right to file a separate opinion.
SYLLABUS BY THE COURT
1. "In determining whether to grant a rule to show cause in prohibition
when a court is not acting in excess of its jurisdiction, this Court will look to the adequacy
of other available remedies such as appeal and to the over-all economy of effort and money
among litigants, lawyers and courts; however, this Court will use prohibition in this
discretionary way to correct only substantial, clear-cut, legal errors plainly in contravention
of a clear statutory, constitutional, or common law mandate which may be resolved
independently of any disputed facts and only in cases where there is a high probability that
the trial will be completely reversed if the error is not corrected in advance." Syllabus Point
1, Hinkle v. Black, 164 W. Va. 112, 262 S.E.2d 744 (1979).
2. "Rule 1.9(a) of the Rules of Professional Conduct, precludes an
attorney who has formerly represented a client in a matter from representing another person
in the same or a substantially related matter this is materially adverse to the interests of the
former client unless the former client consents after consultation." Syllabus Point 2, State
ex rel. McClanahan v. Hamilton, 189 W. Va. 290, 430 S.E.2d 569 (1993).
3. "Under Rule 1.9(a) of the Rules of Professional Conduct, determining
whether an attorney's current representation involves a substantially related matter to that of
a former client requires an analysis of the facts, circumstances, and legal issues of the two representations." Syllabus Point 3, State ex rel. McClanahan v. Hamilton, 189 W. Va. 290,
430 S.E.2d 569 (1993).
4. "Once a former client establishes that the attorney is representing
another party in a substantially related matter, the former client need not demonstrate that
he divulged confidential information to the attorney as this will be presumed." Syllabus
Point 4, State ex rel. McClanahan v. Hamilton, 189 W. Va. 290, 430 S.E.2d 569 (1993).
Per Curiam:See footnote 1
In this original proceeding in prohibition, the petitioner, Ogden Newspapers,
Inc. (hereinafter "Ogden"), seeks a writ of prohibition against the Honorable Christopher C.
Wilkes from entering orders denying Ogden's motion to disqualify David M. Hammer and
Robert J. Schiavoni (hereinafter "Hammer and Schiavoni") of the law firm Hammer, Ferretti
& Schiavoni from participating in the cases against Ogden in the Circuit Court of Berkeley
County. Ogden alleges that Hammer and Schiavoni, who represent four plaintiffs in these
cases against Ogden, are effectively representing parties with adverse interests to those of
the petitioner in matters substantially related to those for which these lawyers worked on
when they were associates at the law firm of Steptoe & Johnson, who has represented Ogden
in the past and defends them now in these cases. We agree, in part, and grant a writ of
prohibition as moulded.
I.
FACTS
This petition for a writ of prohibition arises from three lawsuits that are
currently pending in the Circuit Court of Berkeley County. The plaintiffs in the underlying
cases are suing Ogden Newspapers, Inc., a West Virginia corporation, and its subsidiaries.
Hammer and Schiavoni joined the law firm of Steptoe & Johnson as associates
in 1986 and 1988, respectively, working primarily in the areas of labor and employment law.
On August 1, 1992, Hammer and Schiavoni left Steptoe & Johnson to form their own law
firm, Hammer, Ferretti & Schiavoni.
In August 1994, Hammer and Schiavoni filed a complaint against Ogden on
behalf of a former employee of Ogden, alleging handicap discrimination in violation of the
West Virginia Human Rights Act, W. Va. Code §§ 5-11-1 to -19 (1996).See footnote 2
In 1995, Hammer and Schiavoni filed two complaints against Ogden on behalf
of three former employees, alleging violations of the West Virginia Wage Payment and
Collection Act, W. Va. Code §§ 21-5-1 to -12 (1987).See footnote 3
Ogden filed motions to disqualify Hammer and Schiavoni from representing
the plaintiffs in each of the three cases. The motions were consolidated for hearing and
argued on October 27, 1995.See footnote 4 Judge Wilkes then entered three orders on November 15,
1995, denying the motions.
II.
JURISDICTION AND STANDARD OF REVIEW
We first address whether a writ of prohibition is appropriate in this instance:
In determining whether to grant a rule to show cause in
prohibition when a court is not acting in excess of its
jurisdiction, this Court will look to the adequacy of other
available remedies such as appeal and to the over-all economy
of effort and money among litigants, lawyers and courts;
however, this Court will use prohibition in this discretionary
way to correct only substantial, clear-cut, legal errors plainly in
contravention of a clear statutory, constitutional, or common
law mandate which may be resolved independently of any
disputed facts and only in cases where there is a high probability
that the trial will be completely reversed if the error is not
corrected in advance.
Syllabus Point 1, Hinkle v. Black, 164 W. Va. 112, 262 S.E.2d 744 (1979). Our law is well
settled that a party aggrieved by a trial court's decision on a motion to disqualify may
properly challenge the trial court's decision by way of a petition for a writ of prohibition.
See, e.g., State ex rel. McClanahan v. Hamilton, 189 W. Va. 290, 430 S.E.2d 569 (1993)
(recognizing that a challenge to a circuit court's ruling on a motion to disqualify is
appropriate through an original proceeding brought before this court); State ex rel. DeFrances
v. Bedell, 191 W. Va. 513, 446 S.E.2d 906 (1994) (per curiam); State ex rel. Taylor
Associates v. Nuzum, 175 W. Va. 19, 330 S.E.2d 677 (1985).
The reason that a writ of prohibition is available in this Court to review a
motion to disqualify a lawyer is manifest. If a party whose lawyer has been disqualified is
forced to wait until after the final order to appeal, and then is successful on appeal, a retrial
with the party's formerly disqualified counsel would result in a duplication of efforts, thereby imposing undue costs and delay. See State ex rel. DeFrances v. Bedell, 191 W. Va.
at 516, 446 S.E.2d at 909.
Conversely, if a party who is unsuccessful in its motion to disqualify is forced
to wait until after the trial to appeal, and then is successful on appeal, not only is that party
exposed to undue costs and delay, but by the end of the first trial, the confidential
information the party sought to protect may be disclosed to the opposing party or made a part
of the record. Even if the opposing party obtained new counsel, irreparable harm would have
already been done to the former client. The harm that would be done to the client if it were
not allowed to challenge the decision by the exercise of original jurisdiction in this Court
through a writ of prohibition would effectively emasculate any other remedy.
Therefore, Ogden has satisfied the Hinkle standard for our consideration of a
discretionary writ of prohibition.See footnote 5 We now turn to our discussion on the disqualification
issue.
III.
DISCUSSION
Ogden in this case seeks to disqualify the plaintiffs' lawyers under Rule 1.9
of the Rules of Professional Conduct.See footnote 6 Specifically, "[o]nce a former client establishes that
the attorney is representing another party in a substantially related matter, the former client
need not demonstrate that he divulged confidential information to the attorney as this will
be presumed." Syllabus Point 4, State ex rel. McClanahan v. Hamilton, supra.
The rationale behind such a prophylactic rule is well grounded: a client, in
order to receive the best legal advice, should be allowed to be assured that any private or
personal disclosure made to her lawyer will be kept in the strictest confidence. State ex rel.
McClanahan v. Hamilton, supra (citing Green v. Montgomery County, Alabama, 784 F. Supp. 841, 847 (M.D. Ala. 1992) and Developments in the Law--Conflicts of Interest in the
Legal Profession, 94 Harv. L. Rev. 1244, 1316 (1981)). A sacred aspect of the legal
profession is that a client must be able to depend on their lawyer; that a client may confer
with their lawyer with the "absolute assurance that that lawyer's tongue is tied from ever discussing it." Gray v. State, 469 So. 2d 1252, 1255 (Miss. 1985) (quoting People v. Gerold,
265 Ill. 448, ___, 107 N.E. 165, 175). Anything less than the strictest safeguarding by the
lawyer of a client's confidences would irreparably erode the sanctity of the lawyer-client
relationship.
We established guidelines for determining when disqualification is proper
under Rule 1.9(a) in State ex rel. McClanahan v. Hamilton, supra. In McClanahan, we stated
that the starting point for determining whether a conflict of interest exists under Rule 1.9(a)
begins with an examination of whether the lawyer's representation of a present client
involves the same or substantially related matter to that of a former client. 189 W. Va. at
293, 430 S.E.2d at 572.See footnote 7 In making such a determination, we have adopted--as a majority
of courts have--the following approachSee footnote 8:
Under Rule 1.9(a) of the Rules of Professional Conduct,
determining whether an attorney's current representation
involves a substantially related matter to that of a former client
requires an analysis of the facts, circumstances, and legal issues
of the two representations.
Syllabus Point 3, State ex rel. McClanahan v. Hamilton, supra. Therefore, our task is to
concentrate on the factual contours of the transactions or matters at issue and to ask whether
the lawyers would have or reasonably could have learned confidential information in their
work at Steptoe & Johnson for Ogden that would be of significance in their representation
of their present clients. See 1 Geoffrey C. Hazard, Jr. & W. William Hodes, The Law of
Lawyering, § 1.9:104, 293 (2d ed. 1990 & Supp. 1996) (hereinafter Hazard).
If a former client establishes that the lawyer is representing a different party
in a substantially related matter, it will be presumed that the lawyer received confidential
information from the former client, so that the former client need not come forward with
confidential information. Syllabus Point 4 of State ex rel McClanahan v. Hamilton, supra
states: "Once a former client establishes that the attorney is representing another party in a
substantially related matter, the former client need not demonstrate that he divulged
confidential information to the attorney as this will be presumed."See footnote 9 This protects the former client from the dilemma of being forced to reveal confidences in order to disqualify a lawyer-
-the very confidences the former client is seeking to prevent a former lawyer from divulging
or using to the detriment of the former client.See footnote 10
Here, however, Ogden submitted documentary evidence under confidential
seal, thereby providing the court with the opportunity to review the nature of the legal work
provided by Hammer and Schiavoni. See Hazard, § 1.9:104, 294.1 n.6. (noting that when
the relevance of the alleged confidential information to the new matter cannot necessarily
be gleaned from the assertions of the former clients, one way for the trial court to make a
better determination is to have the former client reveal such information in camera, as was
done in United States Football League v. National Football League, 605 F. Supp. 1448
(S.D.N.Y. 1985)). We commend the lawyers and the circuit court for conducting this
proceeding on the motion to disqualify in this fashion, providing both the trial court and this
Court with a clearer insight into how and why matters may be substantially related and the
types of confidential information that may have been disclosed.
We now apply the law to the facts of this case. The confidential documents
under seal reveal, as Ogden asserts,See footnote 11 that while associates at Steptoe & Johnson, Hammer
and Schiavoni had the opportunity to provide various legal services for the benefit of Ogden.
According to Ogden, the work assignments undertaken by Mr. Hammer for the benefit of
Ogden included:
(1) Legal research regarding bargaining duties, out-of-state law
applicable to at-will employment, lifetime job guarantees,
NLRA decertification procedures, mandatory rest periods under
West Virginia law, restrictions on direct communications with
employees represented by a union, and wrongful discharge
issues;
(2) A Freedom of Information Act request to the National
Labor Relations Board;
(3) Drafting a sexual harassment policy and assisting in an out-
of-state sexual harassment case; and
(4) Research regarding the feasibility of applicant weight
screening under the handicap discrimination prohibitions of the
Americans with Disabilities Act, the West Virginia Human
Rights Act, and the West Virginia Workers' Compensation Act.
The work assignments undertaken by Mr. Schiavoni for the benefit of Ogden
included, according to Ogden:
(1) Legal research concerning employer successorship issues,
employee early retirement options, age discrimination issues,
corporate dissolution issues, veteran's rights issues, and
employee health benefits issues;
(2) Representation in an unemployment compensation case
involving the issue of independent contractor status versus
employee status;
(3) Representation in a civil lawsuit on behalf of an Ogden
subsidiary to recover lost profits;
(4) Assistance in regard to a municipal ordinance adversely
affecting the use of news racks; and
(5) Representation in a workers' compensation benefits claim.
Upon review of the confidential documents and the assertions made by both
parties in their briefs, we find that with regard to the two lawsuits brought under the West
Virginia Wage and Payment Act, we find nothing in the legal services and representation
provided by Hammer and Schiavoni that would constitute a substantial relationship to the
matters in these lawsuits, whereby Hammer and Schiavoni could have obtained confidential
information that could be used adversely against Ogden. Therefore, we find that the circuit
court properly denied Ogden's motions to disqualify Hammer and Schiavoni as the lawyers
for Alfred Sine, Darrel Anderson, and Robert Felter in their suits against Ogden.
However, with respect to the handicap discrimination case, when we examine
the documentary evidence, it is problematic that Mr. Hammer, who undertook a research
project regarding whether applicant weight screening would violate the provisions of the
Americans with Disabilities Act, the West Virginia Human Rights Act, and the West Virginia
Workers' Compensation Act, now brings a handicap discrimination case under the West
Virginia Human Rights Act against Ogden. The nature of the research project, as described
in a confidential memorandum, clearly supports the presumption that Mr. Hammer gained
some insight into the corporate policies of Ogden and its affiliates--insight that would be
substantially relevant to Hammer and Schiavoni's representation of Robin Wilkinson's
handicap discrimination case against Ogden. We believe that Hammer and Schiavoni's
representation could result in the use of confidential information received while associates
at Steptoe & Johnson that could adversely affect Ogden. See State ex rel. McClanahan v.
Hamilton, 189 W. Va. at 295, 430 S.E.2d at 574.
We, therefore, conclude that Ogden has made a sufficient showing that
Hammer and Schiavoni are presently representing Robin Wilkinson in a matter substantially
related to the work they did for Ogden, and that they did or could have obtained confidential
information which could be used adversely against Ogden, so that the Hammer and
Schiavoni, in their capacity as lawyers representing Robin Wilkinson, should be disqualified.
IV.
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, we find that the defendant Ogden Newspapers, Inc.
has sufficiently shown that Hammer and Schiavoni have or reasonably could have learned
confidential information while lawyers at Steptoe & Johnson about Ogden that would be of
significance in their representation of Robin Wilkinson's handicap discrimination case. With
regard to Hammer and Schiavoni's representation of the other plaintiffs in their actions under
the West Virginia Wage Payment and Collection Act, we find Ogden has shown nothing to
indicate that its former lawyers are now representing plaintiffs in a matter substantially
related to the work they did for Ogden.
Writ granted as moulded.
Footnote: 1
The Honorable Arthur M. Recht resigned as Justice of the West Virginia Supreme
Court of Appeals effective October 15, 1996. The Honorable Gaston Caperton, Governor
of the State of West Virginia, appointed him Judge of the First Judicial Circuit on that same
date. Pursuant to an administrative order entered by this Court on October 15, 1996, Judge
Recht was assigned to sit as a member of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals
commencing October 15, 1996 and continuing until further order of this Court.Footnote: 2
This case is styled Robin Wilkinson v. The Ogden Newspapers d/b/a The Evening
/Weekend Journal, Civil Action No. 94-C-451.Footnote: 3
These complaints, Alfred W. Sine, Darrel Anderson, v. Ogden Directories, Inc., Civil
Action No. 95-C-273 and Robert Felter v. Ogden Directories, Inc., Civil Action No. 95-C-
355, were filed in the Circuit Court of Berkeley County on June 21, 1995 and August 14,
1995, respectively.Footnote: 4
At the close of the hearing, counsel for Ogden requested the circuit court that the
transcript of this hearing be subject to a confidentiality order.Footnote: 5
We have reformulated the standards by which we will entertain and issue a writ of
prohibition for cases not involving an absence of jurisdiction in Syllabus Point 4, State ex
rel. Hoover v. Berger, ___ W. Va. ___, ___ S.E.2d ___ (No. 23737 Nov. 15, 1996). The
propriety of the utilization of a writ of prohibition in this case is obvious, however, it also
is compatible with the newly-announced standards in Hoover.Footnote: 6
Rule 1.9 provides as follows:
A lawyer who has formerly represented a client in a matter
shall not thereafter:
(a) represent another person in the same or substantially related
matter in which that person's interest [sic] are materially adverse
to the interests of the former client unless the former client
consents after consultation; or
(b) use information relating to the representation to the
disadvantage of the former client except as Rule 1.6 or Rule 3.3
would permit or require with respect to a client or when the
information has become generally known.Footnote: 7
McClanahan observes that the substantial relationship test was first articulated in the
often quoted T.C. Theatre Corp. v. Warner Bros. Pictures, 113 F. Supp. 265, 268 (S.D.N.Y.
1953):
[T]hat the former client need show no more than that the
matters embraced within the pending suit wherein his former
attorney appears on behalf of his adversary are substantially
related to the matters or cause of action wherein the attorney
previously represented him, the former client.
189 W. Va. at 293, 430 S.E.2d at 572.Footnote: 8
In McClanahan, we discussed both the majority and minority approaches used to
determine what is meant by a substantially related matter. The latter approach, adopted
primarily by the Second Circuit, looks to whether the issues between the two representations
are identical or virtually identical. See Government of India v. Cook Indus., Inc., 569 F.2d 737 (2d Cir. 1978). We noted that other courts have found the Second Circuit's approach
to be less acceptable because in an issue-oriented inquiry, the issues may not be developed
until well after the litigation has commenced and would delay a disqualification motion.Footnote: 9
There are numerous ways in which confidential information can be used to the
adverse interests of a former client. One of the better articulations of the array of
possibilities to use such confidential information at trial adversely to a former client is
contained in the following comment:
Adverse use of confidential information is not limited to
disclosure. It includes knowing what to ask for in discovery,
which witnesses to seek to depose, what questions to ask them,
what lines of attack to abandon and what lines to pursue, what
settlements to accept and what offers to reject, and innumerable
other uses. The rule concerns itself with the unfair advantage
that a lawyer can take of his former client in using adversely to
that client information communicated in confidence in the
course of the representation. It concerns itself also with the
importance of protecting the confidential relationship between
client and attorney; if clients withheld information from their
lawyers out of fear that the lawyers might use the information
against the client in a subsequent adverse representation, the
ability of the legal profession to render valuable advice to its
clients would suffer.
Ullrich v. Hearst Corp., 809 F. Supp. 229, 236 (S.D.N.Y. 1992).Footnote: 10
We have expressed with concern when a party uses the disqualification rule as a
sword in a disqualification proceeding that is designed as a method of harassment and an
abusive litigation tactic:
[D]isqualification, as a prophylactic device for protecting the
attorney-client relationship, is a drastic measure which courts
should hesitate to impose except when absolutely necessary. A
disqualification of counsel, while protecting the attorney-client
relationship, also serves to destroy a relationship by depriving
a party of representation of their own choosing. . . . [Such]
motions should be viewed with extreme caution for they can be
misused as techniques of harassment.
Garlow v. Zakaib, 186 W. Va. 457, 461, 413 S.E.2d 112, 116 (1991) (quoting Freeman v. Chicago Musical Instrument Co., 689 F.2d 715, 721-22 (7th Cir. 1982). See also Hazard, § 1.9:104, 294.Footnote: 11 In the interests of protecting the confidences of Ogden, we reveal only that information which is made a matter of public record, to wit, factual assertions made in Ogden's brief which are not controverted.
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