Bryan Corporation v. Abrano (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-080-16)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA, 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us SJC-12003 BRYAN CORPORATION vs. BRYAN ABRANO. Suffolk. March 8, 2016. – June 14, 2016. Present: Gants, C.J., Spina, Cordy, Botsford, Duffly, Lenk, & Hines, JJ. Attorney at Law, Disqualification, Conflict of interest. Civil actions commenced in the Superior Court Department on November 7, 2014, and March 13, 2015. After transfer to the business litigation session and consolidation, a motion to disqualify counsel was heard by Janet L. Sanders, J. The Supreme Judicial Court granted an application for direct appellate review. Richard J. Yurko (Douglas W. Salvesen with him) for the defendant. Euripides D. Dalmanieras (Caroline Stoker Donovan with him) for the plaintiff. CORDY, J. The defendant, Bryan Abrano (Bryan), appeals from a Superior Court judge’s order disqualifying his attorneys, members of the firm of Yurko, Salvesen & Remz, P.C. (YSR), from representing him in a dispute against the plaintiff, Bryan Corporation (company), of which Bryan is a shareholder. The Superior Court judge granted the plaintiff’s motion to disqualify on the ground that YSR’s representation of Bryan violated Mass. R. Prof. C. 1.7, as appearing in 471 Mass. 1335 (2015), or in the alternative, Mass. R. Prof. C. 1.9, as appearing in 471 Mass. 1359 (2015), governing the concurrent and successive representation of clients, respectively. Because we conclude that YSR’s conduct violated rule 1.7′s prohibition against the simultaneous representation of adverse parties, we affirm the order of disqualification.[1] 1. Background. We summarize the facts relevant to the posture of this controversy, which arises from a dispute between family members who are shareholders in a close corporation.[2] The company, which is headquartered in Woburn, was incorporated in 1985 as a close corporation and supplies pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Since October, 2008, the company has had three shareholders: Bryan; his sister, Bridget Rodrigue (Bridget); and their mother, Kim Abrano (Kim). Kim holds fifty-one per cent of the company, Bryan holds thirty-three per cent, and Bridget holds sixteen per cent. Bryan, Bridget, and Kim all obtained their shares from Frank Abrano (Frank), who founded the company, and who is Kim’s estranged husband and Bryan and Bridget’s father. Bryan and Bridget were directors of the company until July, 2014.[3] Bryan was the company’s president and chief executive officer until 2013, when he was replaced by Libor Krupica. Bridget was the […]