In re Columbia Valley Healthcare System, L.P.

Yvonne and Alberto Leal (plaintiffs) sued Columbia Valley Healthcare System, L.P. (Columbia) (defendant) for medical malpractice. The Leals were represented by attorney J.A. Magallanes. Columbia was represented by attorney William Gault. Margarita Rodriguez was a legal assistant who helped Gault on the matter. During this work, Rodriguez had access to confidential information and communications about Columbia and its defense strategy. Rodriguez then left Gault’s firm, agreeing not to disclose any confidential information she had received. Eleven months later, Magallanes hired Rodriguez as his legal assistant. The firm had no formal screening procedures for employees with conflicts of interest. Magallanes orally instructed Rodriguez not to work on the Leal-Columbia matter and assigned the case to the firm’s other legal assistant. Due to health issues, Magallanes reduced his work on the case and brought in another law firm to handle most of it. Despite the instructions to avoid the Leal-Columbia case, Rodriguez placed copies of case documents in the firm’s files and scheduled a court matter for it. When Magallanes learned Rodriguez had scheduled the matter, he orally threatened to terminate both Rodriguez and the other legal assistant if Rodriguez had further contact with the case. Nevertheless, Rodriguez still had contact, such as filing correspondence and managing Magallanes’s calendar. Magallanes also once asked Rodriguez to photocopy a birth certificate and Social Security card for the case. Gault learned Rodriguez was working for Magallanes, and Columbia moved to disqualify Magallanes from representing the Leals. The trial court ordered Rodriguez not to work on the case but did not disqualify Magallanes. Columbia appealed.