Arbitration/Mediation/Conflict of interest

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Expert: - 5/15/2011


Question
Long story short, my husbands brother who is a licensed mechanic had worked on a neighbor of ours cars recently. My husband was there when his brother and neighbor reviewed each others hand written contract regarding what needed to be fixed. Basically from what we have been told by the neighbor is that his issues weren't resolved and now he is taking my husbands brother to court. (Alot of what we have heard from both sides have been hearsay and not sure what is exactly true). I have heard from family that the neighbor cannot make my husband make a statement against his brother due to conflict of interest. Is this true? My husband was only involved from when he referred the neighbor to his brother. We reside in the state of CA.

Answer
Nicole,

I do not give legal advice over the internet, however, I can tell you unequivocally there is no such thing as sibling confidentiality or conflict of interest.  In other words, there is no conflict of interest that can prevent your husband from testifying unless your husband is an attorney/doctor/priest/etc.  

Very truly yours,

Paul D. Friedman, M.A., Ph.D., J.D.

Arbitration/Mediation

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Paul D. Friedman, M.A., Ph.D., J.D.

Expertise

I am a licensed attorney and Judge Pro Tempore who has conducted and been involved in hundreds of mediations and thousands of arbitrations. I can answer questions regarding settlement conferences, mediations or arbitrations. I do not give legal advice over the internet and it would be helpful to list your location such as country or state.

For more information, you can view my website at WWW.EXPERTETHICS.COM

Experience

I am a licensed attorney, Judge Pro Tempore and adjunct professor.

Experience in the area
I have been a licensed attorney since 1989 and a Judge Pro Tempore since 2005. Additionally, I have a masters degree in bioethics and a doctorate of philosophy regarding comparative ethics

Organizations
State Bar of Arizona
State Bar of Colorado (inactive)
District of Columbia Bar (inactive)
Federal Bar
Licensed in Arizona District Court
Licensed in Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Licensed in the United States Supreme Court
American Bar Association
National Board of Trial Advocacy
American Association for Justice
Arizona Trial Lawyers Association
American Society for Bioethics and Humanities
Kennedy Institute of Ethics
National Association of Realtors

Education/Credentials
Bachelor of Arts 1985
Juris Doctorate 1989
Master of Arts in Bioethics 2004
Doctorate of Philosphy 2006

Awards and Honors
Phi Beta Kappa
Multiple Who's Who

Publications
A list of my copyrighted publications and presentations is contained at WWW.EXPERTETHICS.COM

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