United States Second Circuit

In an action alleging fraud in connection with the demutualization of defendant life insurance company, disqualification of defense counsel on the ground that it represented defendant in the underlying demutualization is reversed where: (1) the firm did not have an attorney-client relationship with the policyholders by virtue of its representation of defendant in the transaction; and (2) plaintiffs failed to establish that the purported violation of the witness-advocate rule in this case would warrant disqualification.

Appellate Information

• Decided 09/29/2009
• Published 09/29/2009

Judges

• DENNIS JACOBS, Chief Judge:, Before:  JACOBS, Chief Judge, WESLEY and HALL, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Second Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Teresa Wynn Roseborough, Kevin S. Finnegan, Duncan J. Logan, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, New York, NY;  Michael B. Mukasey, Mary Jo White, Bruce E. Yannett, Mark P. Goodman, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, New York, NY, for Appellants.


• For Appellees:
  
• Jared B. Stamell, Stamell & Schager, LLP, New York, N.Y. (John C. Crow, David K. Bowles, Robert A. Skirnick, and Samantha H. Evans, on the brief), for Appellees.