Castellano v. Winthrop

In a child custody case, Plaintiff mother illegally obtained a USB drive and attempted to use its contents against the Defendant father. Plaintiff filed a petition for writ of certiorari upon the trial court’s disqualification of her counsel.

The Court denied the Plaintiff’s petition. Plaintiff and her counsel obtained an unfair informational advantage through the illegally-obtained USB drive. Disqualification of Plaintiff’s counsel was appropriate where counsel spent approximately 100 hours reviewing the USB drive when it was readily apparent the drive contained privileged and confidential information.

Decision