Judge: Lee S. Arian, Case: 22STCV01100, Date: 2024-03-19 Tentative Ruling
Case Number: 22STCV01100 Hearing Date: March 19, 2024 Dept: 27
Hon. Lee S.
Arian¿¿¿¿
Department 27¿¿¿¿
Tentative Ruling¿¿¿
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Hearing Date: 3/19/2024 at 1:30 p.m.¿¿¿¿¿
Case
No./Name.: 22STCV01100 ALFREDO
BECERRA-AGUILAR vs UBER TECHNOLOGIES, INC
Motion: MOTION
TO BE RELIEVED AS COUNSEL¿¿
Moving Party: Plaintiff’s Counsel Arturo S. Salinas
Responding Party: Unopposed¿¿
Notice: Sufficient¿¿¿¿¿
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Ruling: MOTION TO BE RELIEVED AS
COUNSEL IS GRANTED
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Background¿¿
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Plaintiff is currently represented
by Attorney Arturo S. Salinas.
Plaintiff’s counsel moves to be
relieved as counsel, citing an irremediable breakdown in the attorney-client
relationship and/or communication, which rendered it unreasonably difficult, if
not impossible, for Plaintiff's counsel to continue representing Plaintiff No
opposition has been filed.¿¿
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Legal Standard¿¿
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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, 403-407.)¿¿¿
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A motion to be relieved as counsel
must be made on Judicial Council Form MC-051 (Notice of Motion and Motion),
MC-052 (Declaration), and MC-053 (Proposed Order). (Cal. Rules of Court, rule
3.1362, subds. (a), (c), (e).) The requisite forms must be served “on the
client and on all parties that have appeared in the case.” (Cal. Rules of
Court, Rule 3.1362, subd. (d).)¿¿¿
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Analysis and Conclusion¿¿
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Judicial Council Form MC-051 (Notice of Motion
and Motion), MC-052 (Declaration), and MC-053 (Proposed Order) have all been
filed and properly served. Counsel seeks to be relieved as counsel for
Plaintiff on the grounds that there has been a breakdown in the attorney-client
relationship and/or communication. The Court finds this to be proper grounds
for withdrawal. A breakdown in the attorney-client relationship and/or
communication is grounds for allowing the attorney to withdraw. (Estate of
Falco (1987) 188 Cal.App.3d 1004, 1014.) The Court notes that the next
hearing is a Final Status Conference set for 9/26/24, which should be
sufficient time for Plaintiff to retain new counsel or be prepared to represent
himself. Thus, the present motion to be relieved as counsel is GRANTED.
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¿PLEASE TAKE NOTICE:¿¿¿¿¿¿¿
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If a party intends to submit on this tentative ruling,¿the party must send an email to
the court at¿sscdept27@lacourt.org¿with the Subject line “SUBMIT”
followed by the case number.¿ The body of the email must include the hearing date
and time, counsel’s contact information, and the identity of the party
submitting.¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿
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Unless¿all¿parties submit by email to this tentative ruling, the
parties should arrange to appear remotely (encouraged) or in person for oral
argument.¿ You should assume that others may appear at the
hearing to argue.¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿
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If the parties neither submit nor appear at hearing,
the Court may take the motion off calendar or adopt the tentative ruling as the
order of the Court.¿ After the Court has issued a tentative ruling, the
Court may prohibit the withdrawal of the subject motion without leave.¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿
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