Med-Trans Corporation, Inc. v. City of California City

Plaintiff Med-Trans Corporation, Inc. (MTC), appeals from an order disqualifying Thomas Anton (Attorney Anton) from representing it in this lawsuit against defendant City of California City (City). City sought disqualification after MTC made significant new allegations in connection with a proposed fifth amended complaint. According to those allegations, City failed to disclose the fact that it would be difficult to obtain an ambulance service permit in Kem County, which fact was well known to City as a result of a prior meeting between Attorney Anton and a City official. City believed that said prior meeting constituted a preliminary consultation between Attorney Anton and a prospective client (City), and the trial court apparently agreed. Finding a substantial relationship existed between the subject matter of the prior meeting and the present lawsuit, the trial court granted the disqualification motion. In this appeal, MTC contends the trial court erred because there was no evidence of an attorney-client relationship between Attorney Anton and City, and in any event no confidential information was disclosed. We agree and thus reverse the trial court’s order…