O Builders & Associates, Inc. v. Yuna Corp. of N.J.
Supreme Court of New Jersey
19 A.3d 966 (2011)
Kay Kang, a principal of Yuna Corporation (defendant), met for about three hours with attorney Peter Lee to discuss potential representation in an unrelated lawsuit against Koryeo Corporation, but Lee never took the case and never met with Kang again; Lee provided a detailed, document-corroborated account that nothing substantive beyond the Koryeo matter was discussed, while Kang claimed they had also discussed her business, pending legal disputes, and other confidential matters. Eighteen months later, O Builders & Associates (plaintiff) sued Yuna for construction payment, represented by Lee, and Yuna moved to disqualify him based on the earlier consultation with Kang; the trial court denied the motion for lack of evidence of confidential disclosures, an intermediate appellate court affirmed, finding the matters not substantially related, and Yuna appealed.
Whether an attorney who briefly consulted with a party as a prospective client on an unrelated matter must be disqualified from later representing an adverse party in a different lawsuit, absent proof the two matters are substantially related and that significantly harmful confidential information was disclosed.