ALJ Halprin Rules Attorney Can't Represent Multiple Parties in Guel Hearing

The same attorney can't represent multiple parties in the hearing proceeding on the TV and radio licenses of Antonio Guel and the Hispanic Christian Community Network, ruled FCC Administrative Law Judge Jane Halprin in an order posted Friday (see 2408280048). Broadcast attorney Dan Alpert’s “proposed simultaneous representation of all three deponents is fundamentally at odds with ‘the proper dispatch of business and the ends of justice,’” said the order. Alpert had sought to represent Guel, his daughter Maria Guel and niece Jennifer Juarez in the case but faced arguments from the FCC Enforcement Bureau that this would be a conflict of interest. The hearing proceeding is based in part on allegations that Antonio Guel pretended to sell his stations to Juarez while actually retaining control of them, and conflicting filings in the case show Maria Guel and Antonio Guel as heading up multiple companies involved in the matter. “With each filing in this proceeding, the control and operation of the Guel family’s broadcast licenses becomes less clear,” said the order. “It is therefore not only foreseeable but likely that there will be incongruity in the testimony of Mr. Guel, Ms. Juarez, and Ms. Guel.” Halprin’s ruling allows Alpert to continue representing Antonio Guel in the case, but bars him from representing Maria Guel or Juarez. The order gives Maria Gual and Juarez 45 days to obtain new counsel.