Martin v. Atlanticare
United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
2011 WL 5080255 (2011)
Shelly Martin (plaintiff) sued her employer, Atlanticare (defendant), for retaliation and labor-law violations. Atlanticare was defended by a team at the Morgan firm, including attorney Grosskruetz, who did almost twice the work of the other defense attorneys. Grosskruetz then left Morgan and, three days later, joined Costello & Mains — the firm representing Martin. Atlanticare learned of the move only when it saw Grosskruetz's name on Costello & Mains' letterhead, and moved to disqualify Costello & Mains based on the conflict Grosskruetz brought with her. Grosskruetz herself had already left Costello & Mains by the day the motion was filed.
Whether an attorney's disqualification in a matter is imputed to the other lawyers in any firm the attorney later joins when the attorney had primary responsibility for the matter, was not timely screened, and no written notice was given to the affected former client.