Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy v. Boon, 13 F.3d 537 (2nd Cir. 1994)
NY Underlying Commercial Action/Conflict of Interest
Student Contributor: John Anzalone
Facts: Defendant law firm represented Plaintiff, through an agent, in her attempt to purchase the assets of a bankrupt company. Eventually, however, Plaintiff dismissed the agent. The agent, thereafter, advised Defendant law firm of his interest in purchasing the assets of the same bankrupt company.
Despite being fully aware that Plaintiff still sought to purchase the assets, Defendant law firm informed the Plaintiff that it would represent the agent in his attempt to purchase the assets, and despite Plaintiff’s objections, proceeded with the representation. Ultimately, the agent outbid Plaintiff with the firm’s assistance.
The jury found that the firm’s representation of Plaintiff’s agent breached its fiduciary duties to her and was a "substantial factor in preventing her from obtaining assets she sought in the transaction."
Issue: Did the firm breach its duty to Plaintiff by representing her former agent in the same transaction?
Ruling: In affirming the lower court, the Second Circuit held that the firm had breached its fiduciary duty to Plaintiff, and reasoned as follows:
- The firm committed a serious breach of its fiduciary duties to Plaintiff by representing a party with interests adverse to the Plaintiff in the same transaction.
- The nature of this breach triggers the prophylactic rule so that, instead of establishing proximate cause, plaintiff has to prove only that the firm’s actions were a substantial factor in the resulting damages.
- Here, the substantial factor test was satisfied given the likelihood that (a) the agent and the firm conspired to use Plaintiff’s escrow funds for the agent’s purchase of the bankrupt entity’s assets; (b) this conspiracy interfered with Plaintiff’s negotiations to purchase the same assets; and (c) the firm and the agent conspired to use confidential information regarding Plaintiff’s bid.
Lesson: If an attorney or a law firm terminates its relationship with one client and commences an engagement with another party with directly adverse interests in the same transaction, they will be subject to the “prophylactic rule” which makes it easier for a plaintiff to prove malpractice by substituting the usual "but for" causation in fact requirement with the “substantial factor” test.
Tagged with: Commercial, Fiduciary Duty, New York, Prophylactic, Prophylactic Rule, Proximate Cause, Rule
Posted in: Commercial, Fiduciary Duty, New York, Proximate Cause