Conflicts News — Court Clerk Conflict Concern Curtailed, Superfund Super (Ethical) Screen (1989 Edition)

“Sonos cites ‘vexing’ Google ties but will not look for new judge in patent battle” —

• “Sonos Inc will not request to disqualify San Francisco U.S. District Decide William Alsup or just one of his legislation clerks in its patent dispute with Google LLC, the business said Friday, inspite of sounding alarms about the clerk’s ties to Google and its regulation company.”
• “Alsup’s disclosure that a person of his clerks earlier worked for Google and even now owns Google stock has established a “vexing situation” for Sonos, the organization reported in a court docket filing. It reported it also believes the unnamed clerk worked for the legislation business that represents Google, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, whilst the dispute was pending.”
• “But because the choose has identified the clerk can be impartial, Sonos will not go after a recusal bid, its attorneys wrote.”
• “Alsup last 7 days turned down Sonos’ request for more data about the clerk. He also advised the parties that the clerk placed his Google stock in a blind believe in.”
• “In the scenario now in advance of Alsup, Sonos sued Google in 2020, alleging its Chromecast streamers, House speakers, Pixel telephones, and other products infringe its patents.”
• [Ed: A few days later, the clerk was removed from the case by the judge.]

“Saul Ewing Need to Conduct Ethics Screen In Superfund Go well with” —

• “A Pennsylvania federal judge on Tuesday stated that simply because of ‘an appearance of impropriety,’ Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP need to perform an ethics screen in Superfund litigation to be certain that the firm’s get the job done on a very similar make any difference for shoppers now on the reverse facet does not present a conflict.”
• “U.S. District Choose Gene Pratter stated there is no evidence of inappropriate carry out by Saul Ewing lawyers, but the simple fact that there is a person who labored many years ago on litigation involving some of the similar events and the exact web site creates a problem that needs a cure. Saul Ewing is at present representing heating and cooling firm Fritch Inc. and industrial maker O.F. Zurn Co., which have been sued by a further team of likely accountable get-togethers — which elevated the conflicts challenge — above cleanup costs at the Metro Container Superfund cleanup web site in Trainer, Pennsylvania.”
• “‘Here, no matter of no matter if there is an true conflict, there is arguably an physical appearance of impropriety,’ Choose Pratter said in an purchase. ‘Without a question, counsel from Saul Ewing could, and ought to, have discovered and lifted this challenge preemptively to avoid the visual appearance of impropriety, or at the very least, the important sideshow that has ensued.’”
• “The choose requested Saul Ewing to carry out a ‘comprehensive ethics screen’ of attorneys from the 1989 litigation.”
• “Metro Container Group explained Saul Ewing ought to be disqualified from symbolizing Fritch and O.F. Zurn mainly because the firm’s illustration is adverse to its previous consumers and will necessitate the disclosure of private information and facts from the prior illustration.”
• “Fritch and O.F. Zurn explained Saul Ewing’s representation is not a conflict because the team that Saul Ewing represented in the prior action no extended exists, and that Metro Container Team waived its proper to elevate the problem due to the fact it waited several years following Saul Ewing joined the present litigation to deliver it up.”
• “‘Even assuming that certain members of the present-day Metro Container Group are previous consumers, Metro has not fulfilled its stress as the shifting bash to ‘prove that [its former lawyer] has really discovered information relating to the illustration of’ them,’ the judge stated. ‘It is unfair to require Fritch and Zurn to obtain new counsel four yrs into this litigation although discovery is underway and most of the get-togethers have settled or requested a settlement conference.’”