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Counsel Concerns

By ALM Staff | Law Journal Newsletters |
June 29, 2006

Breach of Loyalty and Confidentiality

The Court of Appeal of California, Second Appellate District, Division Five, affirmed the disqualification of a law firm from representing plaintiffs in litigation over the late singer Eva Cassidy. Straw v. Gelbard, B180606.

Under a 1997 licensing agreement, William Straw and his Blix Street Records obtained the right from Eva Cassidy's parents, Hugh and Barbara, to exploit the singer's recordings. In 2002, Blix Street and the Cassidys filed suit in Maryland federal district court to bar David Lourim from re-releasing an album by Method Actor, a band Eva Cassidy had sung with early in her career. Shortly after the complaint was filed, entertainment attorney Don Engel, Straw's long-time lawyer, began serving as counsel for both Blix Street and the Cassidys. The Cassidys later claimed they didn't know that Engel had previously represented Straw.

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