UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT _________________

X - NATIONAL UNION FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY OF - PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA and ILLINOIS - NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY, Plaintiffs-Appellees, - No. 05-2479

, > v. - - - - ALTICOR, INC., AMWAY CORPORATION, and

Defendants-Appellants. - QUIXTAR, INC., - N Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan at Grand Rapids. No. 05-00015—Richard A. Enslen, District Judge. Decided and Filed: October 18, 2006 Before: GILMAN and GRIFFIN, Circuit Judges; GWIN, District Judge.* _________________________ ORDER AND OPINION _________________________ GRIFFIN, Circuit Judge. Both plaintiffs-appellees, National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Illinois National Insurance Company (collectively “plaintiff National Union”) are represented by the Michigan law firm of Plunkett & Cooney, P.C. (“Plunkett”). All three defendants-appellants, Alticor, Inc., Amway Corporation, and Quixtar, Inc., are represented by the Michigan law firm of Wilson Young PLC (“Wilson Young”). Attorney John Egan was employed by plaintiff National Union’s law firm, Plunkett, from September 2003 until July 11, 2006. During that time, Egan represented this same plaintiff in this very case and in other insurance-related matters involving defendant Alticor. Specifically, Egan spent forty percent of his billable time representing plaintiff in insurance-coverage disputes against defendant Alticor; he participated in depositions, document production and strategy sessions, and he drafted pleadings, motions briefs, and reports for plaintiff. Indeed, in this very action, Egan drafted plaintiff’s complaint for declaratory judgment and the FED. R. CIV. P. 26 initial disclosures. In July 2006, Egan left the employ of Plunkett and, on July 17, 2006, became an associate with defendants’ law firm, Wilson Young. The final briefs in this case were filed by the parties on June 1, 2006.

* The Honorable James S. Gwin, United States District Judge for the Northern District of Ohio, sitting by designation.

1 No. 05-2479 Nat’l Union Fire Ins., et al. v. Alticor, Inc., et al. Page 2

National Union now moves to disqualify the Wilson Young firm from representing Alticor. National Union’s motion proceeds on the theory of imputed disqualification, under which an attorney’s conflict of interest may be imputed to his law firm under certain circumstances. Specifically, National Union relies on two Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct (“MRPC”), MRPC 1.9 and MRPC 1.10. Previously, the ethics rules for attorneys practicing in our court were largely governed by our common-law precedent. See, e.g., Manning v. Waring, Cox, James, Sklar & Allen, 849 F.2d