By: Derek Hawkins//August 29, 2017//
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Case Name: Richard Watkins v. Trans Union, LLC,
Case No.: 17-1142
Officials: KANNE, SYKES, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges
Focus: Abuse of Discretion
Plaintiff Richard Watkins has sued Trans Union for violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The merits of his claims are not the subject of this appeal. The issue here is whether attorney John Cento should be disqualified from representing Watkins. That is because over ten years ago Cento earned a living defending Trans Union in hundreds of lawsuits alleging Fair Credit Reporting Act violations. Because the Southern District of Indiana makes use of Indiana’s rules governing attorney conduct, Indiana Rule of Professional Conduct 1.9 (Duties to Former Clients) governs Trans Union’s effort to have Cento disqualified.
In this interlocutory appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b), Trans Union argues that the district court applied the wrong legal standard for attorney disqualification and misapplied the standard it chose. We affirm the decision of the district court. We review for abuse of discretion the district court decision rejecting disqualification. Owen v. Wangerin, 985 F.2d 312, 317 (7th Cir. 1993); Whiting Corp. v. White Machinery Corp., 567 F.2d 713, 715 (7th Cir. 1977) (The district court “possesses broad discretion in determining whether disqualification is required in a particular case … .”), quoting Schoetter v. Railoc of Ind., Inc., 546 F.2d 706, 710 (7th Cir. 1976). An abuse of discretion can be shown when the district court based its decision on an erroneous view of the law or a clearly erroneous evaluation of evidence. S
Affirmed