Brady Sullivan Federal Court Case Takes a Turn As Plaintiffs Attorneys' Role Is Limited By Court
GoLocalProv News Team
Brady Sullivan Federal Court Case Takes a Turn As Plaintiffs Attorneys' Role Is Limited By Court
The developer has been under fire for the condition of their mills. Last year, Rhode Island officials hit the company’s Harris Mills Lofts with 21 fire code violations.
The major issue in dispute consists of allegations of mold contamination by more than 100 residents of the property. Cases are playing out both in federal court and a state-sponsored mediation.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTLawyers Artin Coloian and Dan Calabro took a setback this week when Magistrate Sullivan ruled that documents the two lawyers were privy to was inappropriate and strictly limited the information's future use.
SEE COVERAGE OF THE ONGOING BRADY SULLIVAN CONTROVERSIES BELOW
According to the ruling, "Two former management-level employees of Brady Sullivan: JulioBasabe, Maintenance Manager, and Christina Rahn, Property Manager (the “former employees”). As a condition of their employment with Brady Sullivan, both of the former employees signed confidentiality agreements barring them from, inter alia, disclosing certain information related to Brady Sullivan’s products or services. At least one of them, Rahn, was privy to extensive confidential attorney-client communications directly related to the issues in the Cases and related matters pertaining to other tenants and former tenants of Brady Sullivan."
Magistrate Sullivan found that, “While still employed at Brady Sullivan, Rahn surreptitiously printed, copied on thumb drives or CDs and/or emailed to her home email account Brady Sullivan documents that included substantial quantities of Brady Sullivan’s confidential attorney-client information. Shortly after the Cases were filed by Attorneys Coloian and Calabro, the former employees abruptly resigned from Brady Sullivan and immediately engaged Attorneys Coloian and Calabro to represent them in connection with matters pertaining to Brady Sullivan. Attorneys Coloian and Calabro undertook this engagement and provided legal advice to the former employees despite the obvious conflict between the interests of the former employees and their existing clients, Plaintiffs and other tenants or former tenants of Brady Sullivan contemplating or already in litigation against it.”
In her ruling, Sullivan found that the “Plaintiffs and Attorneys Coloian and Calabro are prohibited from any use or disposition in any way of Brady Sullivan’s Confidential Information, which was obtained from Rahn or Basabe during their period of engagement with Attorneys Coloian and Calabro in 2018, provided that successor counsel for Plaintiffs may seek discoverable non-privileged information from Basabe and Rahn by deposition or through other means…”
After the decision, Coloian told GoLocal, “We respect the judge's decision.”
Brady Sullivan’s spokesperson told GoLocal that they have no comment on the decision.
Coloian no longer represents the residents in federal court, but does continue to represent the group in state action.
Magistrate Sullivan's decision will need to be approved by federal court judge Will Smith.