Rosenfeld Construction Co. v. Superior Court

—This is a petition for writ of mandate following respondent court’s denial of the motion of petitioner, Rosenfeld Construction Company, Inc., to disqualify the law firm of Wild, Carter, Tipton & Oliver (hereafter Wild) in its representation of real parties in interest, Paul Sivas and Jeanet Sivas. We grant the petition in part, directing respondent court to conduct a new hearing utilizing the proper standard, which we discuss herein.

Procedural and Factual Background

Petitioner brought a motion for disqualification of opposing counsel, the Wild firm, on the basis it had formerly represented petitioner in a related matter.

The memorandum in support of the motion recited that in 1982, John Rosenfeld, petitioner’s president, consulted Wild for advice and representation in a dispute with Mr. and Mrs. George Lawson regarding the Lawsons’ failure to pay petitioner for constructing a home; the Lawsons answered the complaint and cross-complained asserting that petitioner had failed to construct the home in conformity with the construction contract and industry standards. Petitioner asked the court to take judicial notice of the contents of the court’s file concerning the…