Mills v. Santos
Docket Index No. 35466/20|Appeal No. 6532|Case No. 2025-00326|
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- Filed
- Jurisdiction
- New York
- Court
- Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
- Type
- Opinion
- Case type
- Civil
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Citation
- 2026 NY Slip Op 02786
- Docket numbers
- Index No35466/20Appeal No6532Case No2025-00326
Appeal from a Supreme Court (Bronx County) order denying defendants' motion to disqualify plaintiff's counsel in a personal-injury action
Summary
The Appellate Division, First Department affirmed a Bronx County Supreme Court order denying defendants' motion to disqualify the Grigoropoulos Law Group (GLG) from representing plaintiff in a personal-injury action arising from a 2019 vehicle collision. GLG initially represented both plaintiff and driver Santos, obtained a written conflict waiver, and later withdrew for Santos when Santos's position became adverse and proceeded to represent only the plaintiff. The court found defendants waived the disqualification claim by delaying about three years, the written waiver adequately warned of potential conflicts and withdrawal, and there was no evidence that confidential information obtained during GLG's brief representation of Santos was used to plaintiffs' advantage.
Issues Decided
- Whether defendants are entitled to disqualify plaintiff's counsel based on an alleged conflict of interest from prior joint representation
- Whether a signed conflict waiver can preclude disqualification when counsel later withdraws from representing one client and represents the other exclusively
- Whether defendants waived the right to seek disqualification by delaying their motion for approximately three years
- Whether there is evidence that confidential information obtained during the brief joint representation was used to the other party's prejudice
Court's Reasoning
The court relied on the written waiver both clients signed, which warned of potential conflicts and of GLG's right to withdraw if interests became adverse, and held that waiver undermined the disqualification request. The court also found defendants had waived the issue by waiting about three years to move to disqualify. Finally, the absence of any proof that confidences obtained during GLG's short representation of Santos were used against him weighed against disqualification.
Authorities Cited
- Matter of Coast Mar. Co. Ltd. v Holland & Knight LLP243 AD3d 468 (1st Dept 2025)
- Sanyang v Davis198 AD3d 522 (1st Dept 2021)
- Consumers Beverages, Inc. v Kavcon Dev. LLC227 AD3d 1381 (4th Dept 2024)
- Patane v Tan188 AD3d 498 (1st Dept 2020)
Parties
- Plaintiff
- Carlton Mills
- Defendant
- Jose Santos
- Defendant
- The Sofa Doctor
- Defendant
- Wilver D. Caba
- Attorney
- Grigoropoulos Law Group, PLLC (GLG)
- Attorney
- Thomas Torto (for appellants); Jason Levine of counsel
- Attorney
- Pollack, Pollack, Isaac & DeCicco, LLP (for respondent); Jillian Rosen of counsel
- Judge
- John A. Howard-Algarin (Supreme Court, Bronx County)
Key Dates
- Accident date
- 2019-02-07
- GLG retained by plaintiff and Santos
- 2019-03-05
- GLG discontinued representation of Santos
- 2019-06-06
- Supreme Court order denying disqualification (entered)
- 2024-12-24
- Appellate Division decision entered
- 2026-05-05
What You Should Do Next
- 1
Continue litigation with current counsel
Plaintiff and GLG should proceed with the personal-injury action in Bronx Supreme Court now that disqualification was denied.
- 2
Defendants consider appellate options
Defendants who wish to continue contesting disqualification should consult counsel about seeking permission to appeal to a higher court promptly.
- 3
Monitor confidentiality concerns
All parties should document and preserve any evidence regarding use or nonuse of confidences from the brief joint representation, in case the issue resurfaces.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What did the court decide?
- The appeals court affirmed the lower court's denial of defendants' motion to disqualify plaintiff's lawyer, finding the written waiver and delay in seeking disqualification barred the claim, and there was no proof of misuse of confidences.
- Who is affected by this decision?
- Plaintiff Mills, defendant Santos, The Sofa Doctor, and their lawyers; GLG may continue representing plaintiff in the personal-injury case.
- Why didn't the court disqualify the lawyer despite prior joint representation?
- Because both clients signed a detailed conflict waiver that warned of possible withdrawal, the firm withdrew for Santos when a conflict arose, defendants waited about three years to object, and there was no evidence confidential information was used.
- Can the defendants appeal this decision further?
- They could seek leave to appeal to a higher court, but the appellate panel's unanimous decision makes further review discretionary and not guaranteed.
The above suggestions and answers are AI-generated for informational purposes only. They may contain errors. NoticeRegistry assumes no responsibility for their accuracy. Consult a qualified attorney before relying on them.
Full Filing Text
Mills v Santos - 2026 NY Slip Op 02786 Mills v Santos 2026 NY Slip Op 02786 May 5, 2026 Appellate Division, First Department Carlton Mills, Plaintiff-Respondent, v Jose Santos et al., Defendants-Appellants, Wilver D. Caba et al., Defendants. Decided and Entered: May 05, 2026 Index No. 35466/20|Appeal No. 6532|Case No. 2025-00326| Before: Manzanet-Daniels, J.P., Kapnick, Rodriguez, Pitt-Burke, O'neill Levy, JJ. Thomas Torto, New York (Jason Levine of counsel), for appellants. Pollack, Pollack, Isaac & DeCicco, LLP, New York (Jillian Rosen of counsel), for respondent. Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (John A. Howard-Algarin, J.), entered on or about December 24, 2024, which denied defendants' motion to disqualify the Grigoropoulos Law Group, PLLC (GLG) from serving as counsel for plaintiff, unanimously affirmed, without costs. Plaintiff's action arises from injuries he allegedly sustained on February 7, 2019, when a motor vehicle operated by defendant Jose Santos and owned by defendant The Sofa Doctor, in which plaintiff was a lawful passenger, came into contact with another vehicle. On March 5, 2019, plaintiff and Santos retained GLG to represent them in connection with the accident. Each party signed a detailed Notice of Potential Conflict of Interest and Waiver of Conflict-Free Counsel, under which GLG reserved the right to withdraw from representing either plaintiff or Santos, or both, if it discovered information that would cause it to believe that it could no longer represent both because of a conflict of interest. On June 6, 2019, GLG discontinued its representation of Santos after it discovered that his position would be adverse to plaintiff, and it decided to solely represent plaintiff. The court properly denied defendants' motion. Defendants waived any conflict of interest by waiting approximately three years to move to disqualify GLG ( see Matter of Coast Mar. Co. Ltd. v Holland & Knight LLP , 243 AD3d 468, 469 [1st Dept 2025]). Moreover, defendants were not entitled to disqualify GLG because the waiver was sufficient to inform both plaintiff and Santos of any potential conflicts in having GLG represent them simultaneously ( cf. Sanyang v Davis , 198 AD3d 522, 522 [1st Dept 2021]). The waiver further informed Santos of the possibility that GLG would discontinue representing him should it realize that his interests had become adverse to plaintiff's interests. The absence of any evidence that plaintiff or GLG used confidences gained during GLG's brief representation of Santos also supported denial of the motion ( see Consumers Beverages, Inc. v Kavcon Dev. LLC , 227 AD3d 1381, 1384 [4th Dept 2024]; see also Patane v Tan , 188 AD3d 498, 499 [1st Dept 2020]). We have considered defendants' remaining arguments and find them unavailing. THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT. ENTERED: May 5, 2026