Kurtin

After a real estate transaction went awry, the parties thereto, represented by separate counsel, entered into a settlement agreement. Later, one of the parties agreed to advance settlement monies to another of the parties, but did not want to incur legal fees in connection with the documentation of the loan. Consequently, the borrower asked his law firm to prepare a promissory note documenting the terms to which he and the lender had already agreed. The law firm did so and sent the document directly to the borrower. The borrower and the lender themselves then negotiated an addendum to the promissory note; the borrower did not request assistance from his counsel. Ultimately, the deal gone awry got worse. The borrower sued the other parties to the settlement agreement on various causes of action arising out of it. Included in the complaint was one cause of action for usury, based on the promissory note.

The law firm that prepared the promissory note was also the one that filed the complaint on behalf of the borrower. The lender filed a motion to disqualify that law firm, contending it could not take a position adverse to him, as a former client, and also could not prepare…