Laster Orders Morris Nichols to Produce Client's Litigation File
The Delaware Court of Chancery has ordered Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell to turn over additional documents to two former clients embroiled in a dispute over control of a New York-based technology-services firm.
April 24, 2018 at 05:42 PM
4 minute read
Photo Credit: Shutterstock
The Delaware Court of Chancery has ordered Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell to turn over additional documents to two former clients embroiled in a dispute over control of a New York-based technology-services firm.
Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster on Monday granted Philippe Buhannic's request that the Wilmington law firm produce the full litigation file from an ongoing lawsuit that has resulted in Buhannic's ouster as the CEO and chairman of TradingScreen Inc.
The ruling came after Morris Nichols had turned over just a portion of its file for Buhannic and his brother Patrick Buhannic, citing concerns of attorney-client privilege stemming from the underlying matter. The Buhannics, who were not represented by an attorney, had asked Laster to “penalize” the firm for previously incomplete production, though they did not specify what they thought the sanction should be.
In a 19-page memorandum opinion, Laster said the Buhannics were entitled to their entire litigation file, but declined to impose any kind of sanction against Morris Nichols, saying the firm had reasonably complied with an earlier production order.
“Morris Nichols' conduct has not tainted the fairness of this proceeding,” he wrote. “The case is currently stayed, and Morris Nichols took a reasonable position in response to the Buhannics' request.”
The dispute with Morris Nichols arose out of a 2014 investor lawsuit accusing TradingScreen of failing to redeem their preferred stock. The two private equity firms had also accused the Buhannics and two other directors, Piero Grandi and Pierre Schroeder of acting in bad faith to determine that TradingScreen had enough money to only redeem a portion of their stock.
During post-trial briefing, a majority of the TradingScreen board placed Philippe Buhannic on leave and filed in the Court of Chancery to determine Buhannic's status as CEO and the proper composition of the company's board.
Meanwhile, Morris Nichols, which represented all of the TradingScreen directors in the original suit, withdrew as counsel, just before the parties reached an agreement in principle to settle the case. Laster has since stayed the case.
Buhannic objected to the settlement last April and asserted for the first time that Morris Nichols had refused to turn over its litigation file.
Morris Nichols responded that the other defendants had asserted attorney-client privilege over the materials, but in December produced more than 5,000 documents after Laster granted Buhannic's motion to compel.
However, dissatisfied with the production, Buhannic demanded all of the files in the attorneys' possession. Morris Nichols countered that it had satisfied Laster's order and argued that Buhannic only wanted a copy of the agreement to settle, which the firm said it does not have.
Laster acknowledged that there was a lack of guidance addressing the scope of the materials that former counsel must produce to a former client upon request. In his ruling, he said that Delaware law and the facts of the case supported the “entire-file” approach, which makes no distinctions between a lawyers' internal or external work product.
“The entire-file approach best comports with an attorney's heightened duties to his or her clients and the candor and transparency that characterize the attorney-client relationship,” Laster said.
“Morris Nichols did not produce its entire litigation file. Because this decision has adopted the entire-file approach, Morris Nichols shall produce its entire litigation file.”
Morris Nichols partner Kenneth J. Nachbar, who formerly represented Buhannic and the TradingScreen defendants, did not return a call Tuesday seeking comment on the ruling.
The case is captioned TCV VI v. TradingScreen.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllLatham, Finnegan Win $115M Muscular Dystrophy Drug Patent Verdict for Counterclaimant
2 minute readDelaware Supreme Court Adopts Broad Interpretation of Case Law on Anticompetition Provisions
3 minute read3rd Circuit Nominee Mangi Sees 'No Pathway to Confirmation,' Derides 'Organized Smear Campaign'
4 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Tuesday Newspaper
- 2Judicial Ethics Opinion 24-85
- 3Decision of the Day: Administrative Court Finds Prevailing Wage Law Applies to Workers Who Cleaned NYC Subways During Pandemic
- 4Trailblazing Broward Judge Retires; Legacy Includes Bush v. Gore
- 5Federal Judge Named in Lawsuit Over Underage Drinking Party at His California Home
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250