McBride v. Bergh CA2/8

Filed 8/27/24 McBride v. Bergh CA2/8 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION EIGHT

KATHLEEN WILLIAMS B323937 McBRIDE, Los Angeles County Defendant and Appellant, Super. Ct. No. (BC703537)

v.

KATHERINE BERGH,

Defendant and Respondent.

FELIX LOPEZ et al.,

Real parties in interest.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Stephen I. Goorvitch, Judge. Affirmed.

Century City Law Group and Robin Mashal for Appellant Hector Canino. Pettit Kohn Ingrassia Lutz & Dolin, Damian M. Dolin and Annie F. Fraser for Defendant and Respondent. No appearance for real parties in interest. ____________________ Identifying the actors in this unusual drama is the first step. Hector Canino is the appellant, but he was not a party to the case in the trial court. Rather, in the trial court the case began when plaintiffs Felix Lopez and Luis Rodriguez sued defendant Kathleen McBride. None of these people – not Lopez, not Rodriguez, and not McBride – is a party in this appeal. Canino entered the picture when he approached defendant Kathleen McBride. He used undue influence to procure the signature of this elderly and infirm woman on a document Canino claimed was an assignment of legal rights. Canino then purported to file a cross-complaint in McBride’s name against a stranger to the lawsuit: Katherine Bergh. Bergh is the respondent in this appeal. When the trial court finally discovered Canino’s mischief, it dismissed his supposed cross-complaint as an improper pleading. Over a year later, Canino filed a motion to set aside the dismissal. We affirm the court’s proper denial of Canino’s motion. Citations are to the Code of Civil Procedure. I The underlying case is captioned “Lopez et al. v. McBride.” Felix Lopez and Luis Rodriguez sued Katherine McBride in 2018 for various claims that are not relevant to our decision. The case