Bonner v. Medical Board of California ( 2020 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 Ernest Lincoln Bonner, Jr., M.D. No. 2:17-cv-00445-KJM-JDP 12 Plaintiffs, ORDER 13 v. 14 Medical Board of California, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 Attorney Allen Hassan moves to withdraw as counsel for plaintiff Ernest Bonner, which 18 | would leave Mr. Bonner without counsel. ECF No. 76. No party filed an opposition or statement 19 | of non-opposition. As explained in this order, the motion is granted. Additionally, this case and 20 | pending deadlines are stayed for thirty days to enable plaintiff to find counsel if he so desires. 21 If withdrawal would leave a client in propria persona, Local Rule 182(d) requires the 22 | withdrawing party to seek leave of court, file a formal motion and provide notice of the 23 | withdrawal to the client and all other parties who have appeared. The attorney must also provide 24 | an affidavit stating the current or last known address or addresses of the client and the efforts 25 | made to notify the client of the motion to withdraw. Jd. Withdrawal must also comply with the 26 | Rules of Professional Conduct of the State Bar of California. 7d. Rule 1.16 requires an attorney 27 | to take “reasonable steps to avoid reasonably foreseeable prejudice to the rights of the client, such 28 | as giving the client sufficient notice to permit the client to retain other counsel, and complying 1 with paragraph (e),” which in turn requires counsel to return the client’s materials and property 2 and any expenses or fees paid in advance that the lawyer has not earned or incurred. The Rules 3 also permit withdrawal if, as relevant here, “the client knowingly and freely assents to termination 4 of the representation.” Cal. R. Prof. Conduct 1.16(b)(6). 5 Whether to grant a motion to withdraw is within the court’s discretion. United States v. 6 Carter, 560 F.3d 1107, 1113 (9th Cir. 2009). Courts consider several factors when evaluating a 7 motion to withdraw, including the reasons for withdrawal, possible prejudice to the client and 8 other litigants, harm to the administration of justice, and possible delay. Deal v. Countrywide 9 Home Loans, No. 09-01643, 2010 WL 3702459, at *2 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 15, 2010) (citation 10 omitted). 11 Mr. Hassan has not complied the rules described above. While he has requested leave to 12 withdraw in a formal motion and submitted an affidavit with Mr. Bonner’s current address, he has 13 not noticed the motion. See ECF No. 76. However, Mr. Hassan seeks to withdraw as he has been 14 suspended from the practice of law in California for one year. Ex. 1 at 5, ECF No. 76. Therefore, 15 as the relevant factors weigh in favor of this motion, this court will grant the motion despite its 16 procedural defects. No party opposes the motion, Mr. Bonner has confirmed he would like to 17 proceed without counsel, and the court perceives no likely delays or harms to the administration 18 of justice if the motion is granted. However, the court stays this case for 30 days to allow 19 plaintiff to find alternate counsel if he so desires. 20 The motion is thus granted. Mr. Allen Hassan is terminated as counsel in this 21 proceeding. The case is stayed for thirty days. 22 IT IS SO ORDERED. 23 DATED: November 30, 2020.