Regional Medical Center of San Jose v. WH Administrators, Inc

Background

Ronald Scott Kravitz first appeared as counsel of record for Defendant WH Administrators, Inc. on July 7, 2017, and represented WH Administrators for about three years. On May 7, 2020, he moved to withdraw as counsel, citing California Rule of Professional Conduct 1.16(b). WH Administrators did not oppose the motion. RHC Management Health & Welfare Trust, RHC Management Co., LLC doing business as McDonald, Benefit Administrative Systems, LLC, and The Phia Group, LLC also did not oppose it. Regional Medical Center of San Jose filed no opposition.

Legal Standard

The court explained that attorneys in the Northern District of California must follow California professional-conduct standards. An attorney must obtain the court’s permission to withdraw. In deciding whether to allow withdrawal, the court considers the reasons for withdrawal, possible prejudice to other litigants, potential harm to the administration of justice, and delay to the case.

Reasons for Withdrawal

Kravitz stated that WH Administrators had failed to communicate with him and had failed to pay its legal fees. He said these problems prevented him from providing adequate or timely responses and preparing a proper defense. The court found that the communication breakdown and failure to pay fees constituted good cause for withdrawal.

Kravitz had tried to notify WH Administrators by telephone, email, and certified mail, but received no response. The court found that he had made sufficiently diligent efforts to locate the client. It also found that withdrawal would not prejudice WH Administrators because no motions were pending and no hearing or trial dates had been set.

Ruling and Conditions

Judge Edward J. Davila conditionally granted Kravitz’s motion to withdraw as counsel for WH Administrators. The court required Kravitz to send a copy of the order by registered mail to WH Administrators at its last known address and by email to its last known email address by July 1, 2020, and to file a declaration confirming that he had done so by that date.

Under the applicable local rule, papers in the case could continue to be served on Kravitz for forwarding to WH Administrators unless and until WH Administrators appeared through other counsel. WH Administrators had until July 23, 2020, to obtain new counsel because a corporate entity may not proceed without a lawyer. The court reset the July 30, 2020 status conference to August 20, 2020, and set August 10, 2020, as the new deadline for the status report. Failure to comply with the first two conditions would result in denial of Kravitz’s motion to withdraw.