Fiandaca v. Cunningham
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
827 F.2d 825 (1987)
New Hampshire Legal Assistance (NHLA) represented Mary Ann Fiandaca and other female prison inmates (plaintiffs) in a class action against the prison warden, Cunningham (defendant), over the state's failure to provide programs for female inmates equal to those for male inmates. The state offered to build a facility on the grounds of the Laconia State School (LSS), which the inmates refused. At the same time, NHLA was representing a different class of plaintiffs in a separate suit challenging poor conditions at LSS. After trial, the district court ordered a new facility for the female inmates but barred it from being built on LSS grounds because of NHLA's conflicting representation. Cunningham appealed, arguing NHLA should have been disqualified entirely.
Whether an attorney may continue representing two clients whose interests are directly adverse in a way that creates an unresolvable conflict of interest.