Nassirzadeh v. Williams CA2/2

Filed 12/29/15 Nassirzadeh v. Williams CA2/2 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 TWO

EDMOND NASSIRZADEH, B260592

Plaintiff and Appellant, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BC482832) v.

JAMES WILLIAMS,

Defendant and Respondent.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Teresa Sanchez-Gordon, Judge. Reversed and remanded.

Laura F. Seraso for Plaintiff and Appellant.

Dermot Givens and Edward Cosgrove for Defendant and Respondent.

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A former trustee who was removed from his position has no standing to pursue a legal claim against an attorney who represented the former trustee in a matter concerning trust property. The trial court erred as a matter of law by allowing the former trustee to pursue claims on behalf of the trust. The trial court was obliged to either substitute the successor trustee into the case as the real party in interest, or transfer the case to the probate court to ensure that the interests of the trust beneficiaries are protected. We reverse and remand the case for further proceedings. FACTS Plaintiff Edmond Nassirzadeh is a California lawyer. Defendant and cross- complainant James Williams is a former trustee of The Williams Family Trust (the Trust). Plaintiff was retained in 2008 to file a partition action to secure the sale of a building in which the Trust had a 50 percent interest. The retainer agreement names the Trust as plaintiff’s client. After receiving a $5,000 retainer fee, plaintiff filed a partition action on behalf of the then-trustee, Williams. The partition action was resolved with a settlement agreement signed by Williams, as trustee, in March 2010. The settlement agreement required the partition action defendant to pay the Trust $175,000. When plaintiff sent the Trust a check from his attorney-client trust account in August 2010, he remitted $119,382.50, not the full settlement amount, subtracting $55,617.50 to cover his claimed legal fees. Williams was removed as trustee in 2011, and a successor trustee was appointed. After being removed as trustee, Williams petitioned the Los Angeles County Bar Association for a nonbinding fee arbitration, which was heard by a three-person arbitration panel in 2012. The panel rejected plaintiff’s claim that Williams lacked standing to proceed and found that plaintiff’s fees were unreasonable. The arbitration award required plaintiff to remit $50,000 to Williams, as former trustee of the Trust. Plaintiff filed this lawsuit seeking trial de novo. He alleges that Williams lacks standing to pursue a disgorgement of fees. Plaintiff demurred to Williams’s cross-