William H. Raley Co. v. Superior Court

Opinion

WIENER, J.

On the petition of defendant William H. Raley Co., Inc., a California corporation (Raley), we issued an alternative writ to determine whether the trial court abused its discretion in denying Raley’s motion to disqualify the law firm of Gray, Cary, Ames & Frye (Gray, Cary) as attorneys for plaintiff Rupert Gilbert Carroll. For the reasons set forth below, we issue the writ of mandate and order disqualification.

Factual and Procedural Background

The facts of the underlying dispute are easily outlined; the involvement of Gray, Cary is more complex.

In February 1973 Carroll leased…