Disqualification of Plaintiffs' Firm Warranted in Case Against TXU, Court Holds

AUSTIN, Texas - A plaintiffs' law firm that entered into an agreement not sue a particular asbestos defendant after the firm hired an attorney from a firm that represents the defendant, is prohibited by the agreement from representing plaintiffs in a claim against the company after the employee left the firm, a state Supreme Court has ruled. In Re Joe and Carol Mitcham, No. 03-0481 (Texas Sup. Ct.).

In a decision denying a petition for writ of mandamus filed by a couple represented by the plaintiffs' firm, the Texas Supreme Court held on March 26 that although the attorney in …