Judge: Lynette Gridiron Winston, Case: 23PSCV00076, Date: 2024-02-15 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 23PSCV00076    Hearing Date: March 28, 2024    Dept: 6

CASE NAME:  Amalia Huerta v. Maria de la Luz Huerta Herrera, et al.

Motion to be Relieved as Counsel 

TENTATIVE RULING 

The Court GRANTS the motion to be relieved as counsel. 

Counsel is ordered to give notice of this ruling and file proof of service of same within five calendar days.

BACKGROUND 

This is a real property dispute. On January 10, 2023, plaintiff Amalia Huerta (Plaintiff) filed this action against defendants Maria de la Luz Huerta Herrera, All Persons Unknown Claiming Any Legal or Equitable Right, Title, Estate, or Interest in the Property Adverse to Plaintiff’s Title, and Does 1 through 20, alleging causes of action for quiet title, partition, constructive trust, and resulting trust. 

On February 15, 2024, John F. Mansour, on behalf of Mansour Law Group, APLC, filed a motion to be relieved as counsel. The motion is unopposed. 

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, 403-407.)

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).) 

DISCUSSION 

John F. Mansour, on behalf of Mansour Law Group, APLC (Counsel), seeks to be relieved as counsel for Plaintiff on the grounds that there has been a breakdown in the attorney-client relationship. (Candelas Decl., ¶ 2.) A breakdown in the attorney-client relationship is grounds for allowing the attorney to withdraw. (Estate of Falco (1987) 188 Cal.App.3d 1004, 1014.) Grounds for permitting an attorney to withdraw from representation also include the client’s conduct that “renders it unreasonably difficult for the lawyer to carry out the representation effectively[.]” (Cal. Rules of Professional Conduct, rule 1.16, subd. (b)(4).) The Court finds this to be sufficient grounds for withdrawal. 

Based on the foregoing, the Court GRANTS the motion to be relieved as counsel. 

CONCLUSION 

The Court GRANTS the motion to be relieved as counsel. 

Counsel is ordered to give notice of this ruling and file proof of service of same within five calendar days.