GATX/Airlog Co. v. United States District Court for the Northern District of California

GATX/Airlog Company, GATX Capital Corporation, and Airlog Management Corporation, (collectively “GATX”) petition for a writ of mandamus directing the district court to vacate its order disqualifying the law firm of Mayer, Brown and Platt (“MBP”) from representing GATX in the case of GATX/Airlog Co. v. Evergreen Int’l Airlines, Inc., and related litigation pending before the respondent court in the Northern District of California (the “pending litigation”). The district court granted the motion of real party in interest Bank of New York (“BNY”), one of several parties adverse to GATX in the pending litigation, to disqualify MBP from representing GATX against claims asserted by Evergreen International Airlines (“Evergreen”). See GATX/Airlog Co. v. Evergreen Int’l Airlines, Inc., 8 F.Supp.2d 1182 (N.D.Cal.1998). Those claims concern GATX’s conversion of ten B-747 aircraft from passenger to freighter configuration for Evergreen. Evergreen alleged that flaws in the conversion design caused the aircraft to be grounded. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1651 . We deny the petition for a writ of mandamus as moot and vacate the district court’s disqualification order.

I.

In 1986,…