One Year Delay Seeking to Disqualify Counsel Waives Objection to Conflict​

The court denied plaintiff's motion to disqualify its former counsel as counsel for defendant because plaintiff waived its argument by delaying its motion for a year after it learned of the representation and the delay substantially prejudiced defendant. "[19 months ago], [plaintiff's former counsel] entered notices of appearance on the public docket as [defendant's] counsel. . . . [Plaintiff] had knowledge of both sides of the conflict coin: [counsel's] prior work for [plaintiff] and its current work for [defendant]. And although not necessary to show waiver, [counsel] also put forward evidence that [plaintiff's current counsel] was aware of [defense counsel's] prior relationship with [plaintiff]. . . . [T]he Court is convinced that [plaintiff] knew about the . . . conflict for a year before it decided to file this motion to disqualify. And one year qualifies as an extended delay. . . . In . . . the year during which [plaintiff] knew of the alleged conflict but took no action [its former counsel] billed over 3,400 hours to prepare this matter for trial. Although the Court has not yet set a trial date, this expenditure of time and resources weighs in favor of waiver."

Eolas Technologies Incorporated v. Amazon.com, Inc., 3-17-cv-03022 (CAND August 24, 2017, Order) (Tigar, USDJ)