Judge: James A. Mangione, Case: 37-2022-00034412-CU-BT-CTL, Date: 2023-09-01 Tentative Ruling

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA,

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HALL OF JUSTICE

TENTATIVE RULINGS - August 31, 2023

09/01/2023  09:00:00 AM  C-75 COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO

JUDICIAL OFFICER:James A Mangione

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Civil - Unlimited  Business Tort Motion Hearing (Civil) 37-2022-00034412-CU-BT-CTL MATIYA VS COMPASS DIGITAL [IMAGED] CAUSAL DOCUMENT/DATE FILED:

Plaintiffs/Cross-Defendants Anthony Matiya, Design Studio Network, Inc., and Agility Squared, Inc.'s (collectively, 'Plaintiffs') Motion to Disqualify Counsel is denied.

'A trial court's authority to disqualify an attorney derives from the power inherent in every court '[t]o control in furtherance of justice, the conduct of its ministerial officers, and of all other persons in any manner connected with the judicial proceeding before it, in every matter pertaining thereto.'' (People ex rel. Dept. of Corporations v. SpeeDee Oil Systems, Inc. (1999) 20 Cal.4th 1135, 1145; Code Civ. Proc., § 128(a)(5).) In order to disqualify an attorney, the moving party must have standing, that is, an invasion of a legally cognizable interest. (Great Lakes Construction, Inc. v. Burman, 186 Cal.App.4th 1347, 1357.) Standing arises from a breach of the duty of confidentiality owed to the complaining party, regardless of whether a lawyer-client relationship existed.' (DCH Health Services Corp. v. Waite (2002) 95 Cal.App.4th 829, 832.) Furthermore, 'an appearance of impropriety by itself does not support a lawyer's disqualification.' (Id. at 833.) Standing requires showing 'an invasion of a legally protected interest which is (a) concrete and particularized, and (b) actual or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical'; '[B]road interest in the administration of justice [i]s insufficiently concrete and particularized to support a finding of standing.' (Burman, 186 Cal.App.4th at 1358.) Here, Plaintiffs' have alleged no invasion of any legally cognizable injury. Plaintiffs' request is based solely on potential injuries to Individual Defendants' legal rights and/or the propriety of Defense Counsel's representation in the public's view. Neither of these is sufficient to confirm standing to Plaintiffs.

The minute order is the order of the Court.

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