Jara v. Aurora Loan Services, LLC et al
Filing
69
ORDER DENYING 52 53 Plaintiff's Counsel's Motion to Withdraw as Attorney. Signed by Judge Laurel Beeler on 12/14/2011. (lblc2, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 12/14/2011)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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Northern District of California
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Oakland Division
JOSE A. JARA,
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For the Northern District of California
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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No. C 11-00419 LB
Plaintiff,
v.
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ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S
COUNSEL’S MOTION TO
WITHDRAW
AURORA LOAN SERVICES, LLC, et al.,
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Defendants.
_____________________________________/
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Presently, plaintiff Jose Jara is represented by two attorneys: Glenn Moss and Patricia Turnage.
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On October 31, 2011, Mr. Moss filed a motion to withdraw as Mr. Jara’s counsel. Motion, ECF No.
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52. 1 In his motion and accompanying declaration, Mr. Moss says that withdrawal is appropriate
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because: (1) Mr. Jara is unable to pay for both he and Ms. Turnage; “unhappy differences” have
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arisen between him and Ms. Turnage; and (3) Ms. Turnage will still have the help of her associate
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Megan Irish, so Mr. Turnage would not be prejudiced. Id. at 3.2
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Under Civil Local Rule 11-5(a), “[c]ounsel may not withdraw from an action until relieved by
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order of Court after written notice has been given reasonably in advance to the client and to all other
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Citations are to the Electronic Case File (“ECF”) with pin cites to the electronic page
number at the top of the document, not the pages at the bottom.
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On November 7, 2011, the court prematurely issued an order granting Mr. Moss’s motion.
November 7 Order, ECF No. 54. Because the time for filing opposition and reply briefs had not yet
passed, the court vacated its November 7 Order. Amended Order Vacating November 7 Order, ECF
No. 56.
C 11-00419 LB
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parties who have appeared in the case.” And under the retainer agreement among Mr. Jara and both
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of his attorneys, Mr. Moss and Ms. Turnage may withdraw only: (1) with Mr. Jara’s consent; or (2)
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for good cause. Retainer Agreement, ECF No. 57-1 at 2.
allow him to withdraw. The courts finds that there is none. First, Mr. Moss’s claim that Mr. Jara is
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unable to pay for the attorneys that he retained is unsupported, as Mr. Jara has not submitted any
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declaration to that effect. In fact, Mr. Jara – who Mr. Moss says was informed of his intention to
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request leave to withdraw – has yet to inform anyone of his opinion about Mr. Moss’s motion.
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Second, while there indeed may be “unhappy differences” between Mr. Moss and Ms. Turnage (she
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confirmed this in her opposition), neither Mr. Moss nor Ms. Turnage have provided the court with
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sufficient facts in this regard. See Motion, ECF No. 52 at 3 (merely mentioning that “unhappy
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For the Northern District of California
As stated above, Mr. Jara has not given Mr. Moss his consent, so there must be good cause to
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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differences have developed”); Opposition, ECF No. 57 at 4 (confirming that “‘unhappy differences’
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have arisen between [Mr. Moss and I] on an unrelated unresolved matter”); Reply, ECF No. 63 at 3
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(“Without going into specifics . . . .”). Third, Ms. Turnage reports that Ms. Irish will soon be on
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maternity leave, so she may not be able to assist Ms. Turnage with this case in the immediate future
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(which will involve, should Mr. Jara so choose, the filing of another amended complaint and perhaps
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an opposition to a motion to dismiss). See Order Granting Defendants’ Motions to Dismiss, ECF
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No. 68. On the record before it, the court does not find good cause to allow Mr. Moss to withdraw.
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His motion is DENIED without prejudice.3
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This disposes of ECF Nos. 52, 53.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated: December 14, 2011
_______________________________
LAUREL BEELER
United States Magistrate Judge
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Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 7-1(b), the court finds that this matter is suitable for
determination without oral argument and vacates the December 15, 2011 hearing.
C 11-00419 LB
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