Bevan v. Fix
Wyoming Supreme Court
42 P.3d 1013 (2002)
Attorney Fix (defendant) represented Bevan (plaintiff) in a criminal battery case against Bevan's then-girlfriend, Jones, ending in a plea deal. Years later, after Bevan and Jones married and then divorced, Fix represented Jones in the divorce, later withdrawing after starting a sexual relationship with her. Bevan sued Fix for legal malpractice; the trial court granted Fix summary judgment, finding Bevan was only a former client by the time of the divorce representation and that Bevan showed no actual damages or injury from Fix representing Jones.
Whether an attorney's fiduciary duties of confidentiality and loyalty to a former client are compromised when, in accepting a new client, the attorney will use knowledge or information gained in the former relationship to further the new representation.