Berkshire Holdings Can Be ‘Conflict Nightmare,’ US Judge Says

Federal judges holding shares of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. say it’s sometimes hard to know when companies owned by the conglomerate are involved in cases before them, raising a potential “conflict nightmare.”

Judges complained in certain instances about applying unclear judicial disclosure rules to Berkshire, a holding company owning subsidiaries in multiple sectors, according to a letter from federal appeals Judge Ralph Erickson to judiciary policymakers.

Erickson, who sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, said in the June 30 letter that he’s heard from a number of judges within the circuit and a couple ...