Union Pacific Railroad Company v. Golden Gate Petroleum Company
- Jon Tigar
- 4:20-cv-01503
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 4
In Union Pacific v. Golden Gate, Judge Beeler granted DLA Piper’s motion to withdraw, giving Golden Gate 30 days to hire new counsel.
DLA Piper was permitted to withdraw as Golden Gate Petroleum Company’s counsel. Golden Gate must obtain new counsel within 30 days and cannot represent itself in the case. Union Pacific may move to strike Golden Gate’s answer and seek default judgment if Golden Gate does not obtain counsel.
What happened
Union Pacific Railroad Company sued Golden Gate Petroleum Company to recover railroad demurrage charges under federal law. The opinion addressed Golden Gate’s lawyers’ request to withdraw, not the underlying charges.
DLA Piper said the attorney-client relationship had broken down and that Golden Gate had breached important terms of its agreement with the firm. Golden Gate did not oppose the request, and Union Pacific also stated that it did not oppose it.
Judge Beeler granted the motion. Golden Gate, a corporation, must obtain new counsel within 30 days because it cannot represent itself in federal court. Until new counsel appears, DLA Piper must continue receiving and forwarding case papers; the court warned that failure to obtain counsel may lead Union Pacific to seek removal of Golden Gate’s answer and a default judgment.
The detailed version
- Union Pacific Railroad Company v. Golden Gate Petroleum Company · No. 4:20-cv-01503
- Jon Tigar
- Apr. 1, 2021
Background
Union Pacific sued Golden Gate to recover demurrage charges under 49 U.S.C. §§ 10702 and 10746. Golden Gate, represented by DLA Piper, answered the complaint. The case schedule included private mediation and a September 27, 2021 trial date; fact discovery had closed, and expert discovery was scheduled to close on April 16, 2021.
DLA Piper moved to withdraw as Golden Gate’s counsel. The firm asserted that Golden Gate had made it unreasonably difficult to provide effective representation, had breached material terms of the attorney-client agreement, and that the trust and confidence needed for the relationship had ended. DLA Piper served Golden Gate with the motion by mail and email, and Golden Gate did not object. Union Pacific filed a statement of non-opposition.
Legal Standard
The court applied Northern District of California Civil Local Rule 11-5, which requires court approval before counsel may withdraw after giving reasonable written notice to the client and other appearing parties. California professional-conduct rules also govern withdrawal. Among other grounds, those rules permit withdrawal when a client’s conduct makes effective representation unreasonably difficult or when the client breaches a material obligation related to the representation.
The court also considered whether counsel had taken reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable harm to the client, including giving sufficient notice to allow the client to retain new counsel. The decision whether to allow withdrawal is within the trial court’s discretion. Relevant considerations include the reasons for withdrawal, possible prejudice to other litigants, harm to the administration of justice, and delay.
Application and Ruling
The court found good cause for withdrawal based on the breakdown of the attorney-client relationship and Golden Gate’s material breach of the attorney-client agreement. It also found that DLA Piper took reasonable steps to avoid foreseeable prejudice by notifying Golden Gate of the motion. The motion was unopposed.
Because Golden Gate is a corporation, it could not proceed without an attorney. The court therefore required DLA Piper to continue accepting service of papers and forwarding them to Golden Gate until new counsel appeared. The court gave Golden Gate 30 days to obtain new counsel and warned that failure to do so might result in Union Pacific moving to strike Golden Gate’s answer and seek default judgment.
The court granted DLA Piper’s motion to withdraw. It directed DLA Piper to serve the order on Golden Gate by mail and email within three business days and file proof of service. Judge Laurel Beeler signed the order on April 1, 2021.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.