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Duvall v. Bledsoe7/8/2005
RUFFIN, C. J., JOHNSON, P. J., BARNES, J.
Edwin Duvall brought a medical malpractice/wrongful death suit against multiple defendants, including Dr. Tom Bledsoe. Bledsoe moved to disqualify Duvall's counsel, Coppedge & Leman, P.C., on the basis that attorney Jesse Vaughn, while associated with another firm, represented Bledsoe in connection with divorce and other proceedings. The trial court granted the motion, and Duvall filed an application for interlocutory appeal. We granted the application to address whether the trial court abused its discretion in disqualifying Duvall's current law firm. For reasons that follow, we reverse.
The undisputed facts demonstrate that, after graduating from law school, Jesse Vaughn became an associate of Ledbetter, Little & Smith, a law firm in Calhoun, Georgia. Shortly thereafter, Bledsoe became a client of the firm, and Vaughn handled aspects of Bledsoe's divorce. Following the issuance of the divorce decree, Vaughn assisted Bledsoe in preparing a trust agreement for his children. In connection with his work, Vaughn became knowledgeable about Dr. Bledsoe's financial affairs. He also became friends with Bledsoe, and the two socialized outside of the office.
While Vaughn was employed with Ledbetter, Little & Smith, James Ledbetter served as corporate counsel for Calhoun Internal Medicine. Vaughn, however, did not recall doing any corporate work on behalf of the medical practice.
Vaughn subsequently changed law firms, and he became associated with Coppedge & Leman. Duvall retained Coppedge & Leman to represent him in a medical malpractice/wrongful death action, and suit was filed in early 2004. Initially, Vaughn was unaware that Bledsoe was a defendant in the action, and he called a witness about the case. When Vaughn discovered Bledsoe's status as a defendant, he ended his involvement in the case. Although Vaughn did not believe he had a legal conflict, he claimed that his personal relationship with Bledsoe precluded his continued participation.
Upon learning of Vaughn's association with the firm, Bledsoe moved to disqualify Coppedge & Leman. The trial court granted the motion. In its order, the trial court cited a federal case for the proposition that
here is a two-prong test for disqualification of counsel: first, the party seeking disqualification must prove that it once enjoyed an attorney-client relationship with the opposing lawyer; and second, the movant must show that the matters embraced within the pending suit are substantially related to the matters or cause of action wherein the attorney previously represented it. This test recognizes that many times there exists no genuine threat that any confidences of the former client would be disclosed to its adversary. However, the Court finds, after reviewing the affidavits and depositions in this case that there is a "threat" that Defendant Bledsoe's confidential information will be disclosed to the adversary. Mr. Vaughn gained a great deal of personal knowledge, including financial information, about Defendant Bledsoe as a result of representing him in the above-mentioned divorce action and Mr. Vaughn acknowledged in his deposition that he has discussed the [medical malpractice/wrongful death] case with Warren Coppedge. Therefore, Attorney Jesse Vaughn and the firm of Coppedge & Leman must be disqualified.
Duvall appeals, asserting in two related enumerations of error that the trial court erroneously granted the motion. According to Duvall, the lack of a substantial relationship between the prior actions in which Vaughn represented Bledsoe precludes the trial court from disqualifying Vaughn's current firm.
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