Mosley v. Del Toro

Opinion

IVAN MOSLEY, an individual, Case No.: 21-CV-1129 TWR (JLB)

Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING WITHOUT v. PREJUDICE DONALD R. HOLBEN & ASSOCIATES, APC’S MOTION CARLOS DEL TORO, Secretary TO BE RELIEVED AS COUNSEL of the Navy, Department of the Navy, FOR PLAINTIFF IVAN MOSLEY a governmental entity; and DOES 1

through 25, inclusive, (ECF No. 27) Defendants. Presently before the Court is Donald R. Holben & Associates, APC’s Motion to Be Relieved as Counsel for Plaintiff Ivan Mosley (“Mot.,” ECF No. 27), which is noticed for a hearing on November 17, 2022. The Motion is predicated—without further elaboration—on a “breakdown in the attorney-client relationship[] and . . . . irreconcilable differences.” (See ECF No. 27-1 (“Mem.”) at 2; see also id. at 3–4; ECF No. 27-2 (“Holben Decl.”) ¶ 5.) Further, although no Early Neutral Evaluation conference (“ENE”) had been scheduled when the Motion was filed on October 12, 2022, (see Mem. at 3; Holben Decl. ¶ 4), on October 17, 2022, the Honorable Jill L. Burkhardt set an ENE for November 30, 2022. (See ECF No. 30.) Not only does the Court have insufficient information about the reason withdrawal is sought, see, e.g., Constr. Laborers Tr. Funds for S. Cal. Admin. v. W. Coast Structures, Inc., No. EDCV18490JGBSPX, 2019 WL 7905891, at *2 (C.D. Cal. Oct. 24, 2019), but allowing counsel to withdraw before the scheduled ENE might work an injustice or cause undue delay in the proceedings. (Cf Mem. at 34 (citing Manfredi & Levine v. Super. □□□ 66 Cal. App. 4th 1128, 1133-36 (1998)).) The Court therefore DENIES WITHOUT PREJUDICE Donald R. Holben & Associates, APC’s Motion. Counsel may renew its request—with proper support—following the ENE. Dated: October 20, 2022 — [59 14 bre Honorable Todd W. Robinson United States District Judge