Rosen v. Century Law Group CA2/4

Filed 3/18/22 Rosen v. Century Law Group CA2/4 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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(a). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115(a).

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FOUR

JONATHAN C. ROSEN, B306323

Plaintiff and Appellant, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. v. BC650926) CENTURY LAW GROUP, LLP, et al.,

Defendants and Respondents.

APPEAL from judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Monica Bachner, Judge. Affirmed. Brian D. McMahon and Chelsea Heaps for Plaintiff and Appellant. Century Law Group, Karen A. Larson for Defendants and Respondents.

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff and appellant Jonathan Rosen (Rosen) sued Edward Lear (Lear) and his law firm, Century Law Group (CLG), for legal malpractice. After a bench trial, the trial court entered judgment in favor of Lear and CLG on the ground that Rosen’s complaint was barred by the applicable one-year statute of limitations. (See Code Civ. Proc., § 340.6, subd. (a).)1 Rosen’s sole contention on appeal is that his action was timely because the statute of limitations was tolled until Lear formally withdrew as his attorney of record. For the reasons discussed below, we reject this contention and affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND2 In September 2015, Rosen retained Lear to defend him in a legal malpractice lawsuit (the underlying lawsuit). On February 3, 2016, Rosen emailed Lear, stating: “Your billing practices are insane. [¶] Youre [sic] fired. [¶] Prepare my file asap and let me know when it is available for pick up.” That same day, Lear replied: “Your file will be ready for pick up today. As you know, responses to discovery are due tomorrow.” On February 4, 2016, Rosen picked up his file and signed a substitution of attorney form. That same day, Rosen met with his new attorney, David Owen of Nemecek & Cole. On February 8, 2016, Lear emailed Rosen advising him of pending dates in the underlying lawsuit. Lear confirmed: “In