Hernandez v. Tanninen, 604 F.3d 1095 (9th Cir. 2010)

Rolando Hernandez alleged claims of race and national origin discrimination based on disparate treatment, retaliation, and a hostile work environment while he was employed as a mechanic in the Fire Shop of the City of Vancouver, Washington. Hernandez sued the city and another employee, Mark Tanninen. Hernandez was initially represented by attorney Gregory Ferguson. Hernandez told Ferguson that Tanninen had witnessed the discrimination and would corroborate his story. Ferguson interviewed Tanninen, who did initially corroborate Hernandez’s story, but after speaking with the Deputy Fire Chief, Tanninen decided his getting involved would not be good for the Deputy Fire Chief and “everyone involved.” Since Ferguson was a witness to Tanninen’s original statements corroborating the allegations, Ferguson referred the case to another attorney.

Oxy Resources Cal. LLC v. Superior Court, 115 Cal. App. 4th 874 (2004)

Oxy Resources and EOG Resources entered into a complex transaction whereby they exchanged interests in a number of oil and gas producing properties. Oxy and EOG anticipated that Calpine Natural Gas LP might sue them as a result of the transaction and, therefore, they entered into a joint-defense agreement before finalizing

McKesson HBOC, Inc. v. Superior Court, 115 Cal. App. 4th 1229 (2004)

After McKesson publicly disclosed that its auditors had discovered improperly recorded revenues at a McKesson subsidiary, it became the subject of shareholder lawsuits and investigations by the United States Attorney’s Office and the SEC. McKesson retained an outside law firm to represent it in the shareholder lawsuits and to perform an internal

2,022 Ranch, LLC v. Superior Court, 113 Cal. App. 4th 1377 (2003)

A purchaser of land (2,022 Ranch, LLC) sued its title insurer (Chicago Title) for breach of contract and bad faith. During the course of the litigation, 2,022 Ranch sought documents from Chicago Title’s claims file and also to depose claims handlers and their supervisors concerning Chicago Title’s handling of and refusal to