Federal cases have taken the position that automatic vicarious disqualification is still the rule in California, but SpeeDee Oil is a sign that the California courts may shift. ( In re County of Los Angeles (9th Cir. 2000) 223 F.3d 990, 995; UMG Recordings, Inc. v. MySpace, Inc. (C.D.Cal. 2007) 526 F.Supp.2d 1046, 1060-1061.) The Supreme Court itself granted review in a case that raised the issue of whether, when a private attorney is personally disqualified from participation in a matter due to prior adverse representation not arising from public employment, the attorney's entire firm must be disqualified or whether disqualification may be averted by appropriate screening techniques.

The substantial relationship test is “necessarily fact-dependant.” UMG Recordings, Inc. v. MySpace, Inc., 526 F.Supp.2d 1046, 1060 (C.D.Cal.2007). Courts look to the degree of overlap in “subject-matters, facts or issues” to determine whether there is a substantial relationship.

The substantial relationship test is "necessarily fact-dependant." UMG Recordings, Inc. v. MySpace, Inc., 526 F. Supp. 2d 1046, 1060 (C.D. Cal. 2007). Courts look to the degree of overlap in "subject-matters, facts or issues" to determine whether there is a substantial relationship. Seeid. (quoting H.F. Ahmanson & Co. v. Salomon Brothers, Inc., 229 Cal. App. 3d 1445, 1453 (1991)).

The substantial relationship test is "necessarily fact-dependant." UMG Recordings, Inc. v. MySpace, Inc., 526 F. Supp. 2d 1046, 1060 (C.D. Cal. 2007). Courts look to the degree of overlap in "subject-matters, facts or issues" to determine whether there is a substantial relationship. See id. (quoting H.F. Ahmanson & Co. v. Salomon Brothers, Inc., 229 Cal. App. 3d 1445, 1453 (1991)).

However, "the same `inherent power' also entitles the Court to deny a disqualification motion on condition that the attorney or firm in question comply with certain limitations." UMG Recordings, Inc. v. MySpace, Inc., 526 F.Supp.2d 1046, 1062 (C.D.Cal. 2007). The reason for this "is because a court's authority to disqualify an attorney or craft appropriate relief to punish or deter attorney misconduct derives from the court's equitable powers."

” UMG Recordings, Inc. v. MySpace, Inc., 526 F.Supp.2d 1046, 1063 (C.D. Cal. 2007); see also Neal v. Health Net, Inc., 100 Cal.App.4th 831, 844 (2002) (listing alternative sanctions); but see W. Sugar Coop., 98 F.Supp.3d at 1093 (finding alternatives to disqualification inappropriate).

The Court balances the need to maintain ethical standards of professional responsibility, preservation of public trust in the scrupulous administration of justice, and the integrity of the bar against a client's right to chosen counsel, and the burden on the client if its counsel were disqualified. See Kirk, 183 Cal.App.4th at 807–08, 108 Cal.Rptr.3d 620; UMG Recordings, Inc. v. MySpace, Inc., 526 F.Supp.2d 1046, 1059 (C.D.Cal.2007) (Matz, J.). SPB and Plaintiff Sugar Association contend that Ingredion and Tate & Lyle filed their Motions to obtain an improper tactical advantage in this litigation.

See generally Reese v. Virginia Int'l Terminals, Inc., 2:11CV216, 2012 WL 3202875, at *8-10 (E.D. Va. Aug. 2, 2012) (explaining that having found law firm's simultaneous dual representation of employee and union violated ethical rules, the court had to determine whether disqualification in the present case is the proper sanction and finding that where movant suffered no prejudice as a result of the prior concurrent conflicted representation, disqualification was not warranted, but appropriate sanction was referral of law firm and attorneys to the state bar for an ethical violation). The Court finds persuasive the decision of Judge Matz of the Central District of California in UMG Recordings, Inc. v. MySpace, Inc., 526 F. Supp. 2d 1046, 1062 (C.D. Cal. 2007), in which Judge Matz held that the court could fashion a remedy short of disqualification where there had been a violation of a California ethical rule analogous to the Maryland rule at issue here. Thus, the Court concludes that it is not foreclosed from issuing an Order providing for a remedy other than total disqualification of DeCaro.

UMG Recordings, Inc. v. MySpace, Inc., 526 F.Supp.2d 1046, 1062 (C.D. Cal. 2007)(citing Richard E. Flamm, Lawyer Disqualification: Conflicts of Interest and Other Bases § 23.1 at 443-45 (Banks and Jordan, 2003)).

Additionally, the Court finds it significant that Page has served as CVW's counsel since the conclusion of the 2013 matters to the present, including during the time when Steinberg was Director of Sales at CVW. See UMG Recordings, Inc. v. MySpace, Inc., 526 F.Supp.2d 1046, 1065 (C.D. Cal. 2007) (“Courts . . . have an interest in preserving the continuity of the lawyer-client relationship; otherwise, if such relationships were easily disrupted, complicated cases such as this would take even longer to resolve, [and] the costs of litigation would be even higher).” Because the Court has determined that Page is not disqualified based on his 2013 joint representation of HIS, the Court need not reach the issue of vicarious disqualification of Page's law firm and his co-counsel Lewis Anten