Judge: Deirdre Hill, Case: YC071564, Date: 2023-04-19 Tentative Ruling
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Case Number: YC071564 Hearing Date: April 19, 2023 Dept: M
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Superior
Court of Southwest
District Torrance
Dept. M |
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ATTESSA
PROPERTIES CA LLC, |
Plaintiff, |
Case No.: |
YC071564 |
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vs. |
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[Tentative]
RULING |
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LUCIE
IDLEMAN, |
Defendant. |
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Hearing
Date: April 19,
2023
Moving Parties: Attorney Zachary J.
McCready for cross-defendant Angela Monique Rosas
Responding Party: None
Motion to Be Relieved
as Counsel
The court considered the moving
papers.
RULING
The motion is DENIED WITHOUT
PREJUDICE.
BACKGROUND
On September 8, 2016, Attessa
Properties CA LLC filed a complaint against Lucie Idleman to quiet title.
On September 14, 2016, Luce Idleman
filed a cross-complaint.
On October 11, 2016, Idleman filed
a FACC.
On April 10, 2017, John Christodoro
filed a cross-complaint for resulting trust, constructive trust, money had and
received, declaratory relief, breach of fiduciary duty, common counts, fraud,
negligent misrepresentation, NIED, breach of contract, and aiding and abetting.
On November 1, 2018, proposed
attorney for Jason M. Rund Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustee filed a notice of
removal of action to bankruptcy court in re Lucie Idleman’s bankruptcy
petition.
On January 27, 2022, the court
granted cross-defendant Palos Verdes Realty, Inc.’s motion to compel responses
to form and special interrogatories, set one and ordered cross-complainant
Christodoro and his attorney of record to pay sanctions in the amount of $345.
On March 15, 2022, at the hearing on
the herein motion, the court continued the motion, noting that there was no
evidence of a remand order on file.
On March 16, 2022, a notice of
remand from federal court was filed.
On March 17, 2022, the court
restored the case to active status and ordered the parties to meet and confer
and to file a status report prior to the CMC on April 26, 2022.
On April 21, 2022, the parties filed
a Joint Status Report (and an amended one on April 22), stating that all claims
remain active except that the federal court issued an order quieting title as
to 3400 Palos Verdes Drive East, Rancho Palos Verdes in favor of Christodoro
and entering a judgment in favor of Christodoro and against Lucie Idleman in
the amount of $775,692.70 and a determination that the award was
non-dischargeable.
On June 27, 2022, plaintiff filed a
notice of bankruptcy court order granting Ch. 7 trustee’s motion for order
approving compromise of controversy.
Pursuant to the Sale Order, all claims owned by Lucie Idleman in the
herein litigation were sold to Jonathan Christodoro and Attessa Properties CA
LLC. The transferred claims included the
notice of lis pendens.
On June 27, 2022, Attessa Properties
filed a notice of withdrawal of lis pendens.
On July 8, 2022, the court denied as
moot cross-defendant Lupe Andrade Powell’s motion to compel response to special
interrogatories, set three as to John Christodoro and awarded sanctions in her
favor.
On September 2, 2022, the court
granted cross-defendant’s motion to compel further responses to special
interrogatories, set three as to John Christodoro.
On September 22, 2022, the court
granted cross-defendant Lupe Powell’s motion to compel amended form
interrogatories, set one, against John Christodoro.
On November 8, 2022, the court
granted counsel Joseph Dario Gonzalez as attorney of record for cross-defendants
Lucie Idleman, Charles Idleman, and D’Oro Development Inc.
On January 17, 2023, the court
struck the answer of D’Oro Development Inc. filed on May 1, 2018 and a default
was entered.
LEGAL STANDARD
The court has discretion to allow
an attorney to withdraw, and such a motion should be granted provided that
there is no prejudice to the client and it does not disrupt the orderly process
of justice. See Ramirez v. Sturdevant (1994) 21 Cal. App. 4th 904, 915; People v. Prince (1968) 268 Cal. App. 2d
398.
CRC Rule 3.1362 (Motion to Be
Relieved as Counsel) requires (1) notice of motion and motion to be directed to
the client (made on the Notice of Motion and Motion to be Relieved as
Counsel—Civil form (MC-051)); (2) a declaration stating in general terms and
without compromising the confidentiality of the attorney-client relationship
why a motion under Code of Civil Procedure section 284(2) is brought instead of
filing a consent under Code of Civil Procedure section 284(1) (made on the
Declaration in Support of Attorney's Motion to Be Relieved as Counsel—Civil
form (MC-052)); (3) service of the notice of motion and motion and declaration
on all other parties who have appeared in the case; and (4) the proposed order
relieving counsel (prepared on the Order Granting Attorney's Motion to Be
Relieved as Counsel—Civil form (MC-053)).
DISCUSSION
Cross-defendant Angela Monique
Rosas’s attorney of record, Zachary J. McCready, seeks to be relieved as
counsel.
The motion is DENIED WITHOUT
PREJUDICE. Counsel failed to file a
declaration on MC-052 and a proposed order on MC-053. Further, there is no proof of service.
Moving counsel is ordered to give
notice of this ruling.