Apple Computer, Inc. v. Superior Court

Plaintiff, an attorney, is the named plaintiff in this class action suit. He was represented by the law firm where he works and by a second firm that serves as cocounsel with his firm in other cases. Defendant moved to disqualify both firms based on a conflict of interest: As the class representative, plaintiff is obligated to seek the maximum recovery for the putative class, but plaintiff and the firms may have an interest in maximizing their recovery of attorney fees.

The trial court denied the disqualification motion. Defendant sought review in this court by way of a petition for a writ of mandate. We issued an order to show cause why the trial court’s decision should not be reversed. The firm where plaintiff works then withdrew. The second firm did not. We conclude that the trial court abused its discretion in denying the motion to disqualify the firms because an insurmountable conflict of interest exists between the class representative and class counsel, on one hand, and the putative class, on the other hand.

I

BACKGROUND

On January 9, 2004, plaintiff Lawrence Cagney filed this action on behalf of himself and others similarly situated, alleging that defendant…