Zipdjian v. Caldin CA2/1

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 14, 2024
DocketB338279
StatusUnpublished

This text of Zipdjian v. Caldin CA2/1 (Zipdjian v. Caldin CA2/1) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Zipdjian v. Caldin CA2/1, (Cal. Ct. App. 2024).

Opinion

Filed 11/14/24 Zipdjian v. Caldin CA2/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

ADRIANA MARIE ZIPDJIAN et al., B338279

Plaintiffs and Appellants, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. 23STCV03318) v.

DEBRA G. CALDIN,

Defendant and Respondent.

ADRIANA MARIE ZIPDJIAN et al., B338470

Plaintiffs and Appellants, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. 23STPB01707) v.

Defendant and Respondent. APPEALS from orders of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Jessica A. Uzcategui, Judge. Affirmed in part and reversed in part. Law Offices of Jose Mariano Castillo, Jose Mariano Castillo; Madero Legal Group and Gustavo A. Madero for Plaintiffs and Appellants. Nemecek & Cole and Kenny C. Brooks for Defendant and Respondent. ____________________________ This is plaintiffs’ Adriana Marie Zipdjian’s and Patricia Barbara Candela Pintor’s (plaintiffs’) consolidated appeal from the sustaining of demurrers in civil and probate cases alleging a civil conspiracy between defendant and respondent Debra G. Caldin (Caldin) and Jannette Gianna Breliant (Breliant) without plaintiffs’ first obtaining a prefiling order pursuant to Civil Code1 section 1714.10, subdivision (a). Plaintiffs are disinherited heirs to an estate for which the defendant attorney Caldin performed legal services for the trustee of the estate, Breliant, including settling a claim between the estate and another defendant who is not a party to the current appeal. Before a plaintiff may file a cause of action alleging a civil conspiracy between an attorney and his or her client that “aris[es] from any attempt to compromise a claim or dispute,” section 1714.10, subdivision (a) requires the plaintiff to obtain a prefiling order upon proof the plaintiff has a reasonable probability of prevailing on that claim. Failure to obtain a prefiling order can be raised in a demurrer; that defense was successful in the probate and trial court (collectively, the trial

1 Unspecified statutory citations are to the Civil Code.

2 court) as to most of plaintiffs’ claims against Caldin, not only the conspiracy claims. On appeal, plaintiffs argue the alleged conspiracy did not arise from an attempt to compromise a claim or dispute. We agree. Liberally interpreting plaintiffs’ pleadings as required under our standard of review, plaintiffs allege a conspiracy between Caldin and Breliant to disinherit plaintiffs and direct plaintiffs’ inheritance to Breliant. The conspiracy to disinherit plaintiffs and direct their inheritance to Breliant did not arise from “any attempt to contest or compromise a claim or dispute.”

BACKGROUND2 Plaintiffs are the daughter and granddaughter of decedent Marie Tasker (Decedent). Decedent died at age 85 in August 2021, and Breliant3 cared for Decedent at the end of her life. Although plaintiffs named other defendants in their first amended complaint (FAC) and first amended petition (FAP), Caldin (sometimes referred to as defendant) is the only respondent in these consolidated appeals, to wit, from an order sustaining defendant’s demurrer to the FAC and an order sustaining a demurrer to the FAP.

1. Plaintiffs’ allegations against Attorney Caldin The FAC contains 221 introductory allegations preceding 17 causes of action. In addition to the introductory allegations, the allegations underlying each cause of action are incorporated

2 We must assume the truth of the operative complaint’s properly pleaded factual allegations. (Aghaian v. Minassian (2020) 59 Cal.App.5th 447, 451, fn. 2 (Aghaian).) 3 Plaintiffs allege Breliant has used many aliases.

3 into each subsequent cause of action. The allegations are interspersed with plaintiffs’ characterizations of the evidence and legal conclusions. The prayer for relief spans 14 pages. Thirty- eight exhibits are attached to the FAC. The FAC identifies Caldin as a defendant in the causes of action for (1) financial elder abuse; (2) intentional interference with expected inheritance; (3) conspiracy to defraud; (4) conversion; (5) constructive trust and equitable lien; (6) declaratory relief; (7) unjust enrichment; (8) money had and received; (9) negligence; (10) malpractice; (11) fraud; (12) constructive fraud; and (13) breach of fiduciary duty. The trial court described the FAC as follows: “Plaintiffs allege that Ms. Caldin, who initially represented the Decedent Marie Tasker (the ‘Decedent’) and later represented Jannette Breliant, conspired with Ms. Breliant for the purpose of directing the Decedent’s property to Ms. Breliant after the Decedent’s death. Ms. Caldin is alleged to have drafted invalid estate planning documents for the Decedent that benefited Ms. Breliant. [Citation.] After the Decedent’s death, Ms. Caldin is alleged to have represented Ms. Breliant for the purpose of concealing the allegedly fraudulent and invalid documents. During the course of Ms. Caldin’s representation of Ms. Breliant, Plaintiffs allege that Ms. Caldin improperly administered the Tasker Estate in that she failed to contact certain beneficiaries and disinherited heirs. In addition, Plaintiffs allege that Ms. Caldin improperly settled claims by Jeff Kornreich against the Tasker Estate for much more than their fair value, allegedly to buy Mr. Kornreich’s silence.”4

4 Hereafter we refer to Jeff Kornreich as Kornreich.

4 As relevant to this appeal, plaintiffs alleged they were the original beneficiaries of the Marie J. Tasker Trust. A 2017 amendment to the trust directed the distribution in equal shares to each plaintiff. Plaintiffs allege they live in Argentina. Plaintiffs allege Breliant started caring for Decedent in April 2020. Caldin, an estate planning attorney, met Decedent for the first time in January 2021. “In order to secrete, obtain, misappropriate and distribute Marie’s wealth to herself, Defendant Breliant unduly influenced Marie and persuaded her to create new estate planning documents . . . . When Defendant Breliant was convinced that Marie would follow her instructions to disinherit her family, and that Marie would leave the entirety of her estate to her, she found an estate planning attorney for Marie.” In 2021, Caldin prepared a “complete set of estate planning documents purportedly at Marie’s direction . . . .” “All of these documents named Ms. Breliant as the Trustee, Agent, or Executor, and other than two bequeathments of $25,000 . . . names [Breliant] as the sole beneficiary of Marie’s multi-million- dollar estate . . . .” “In the purported 2021 documents, Marie allegedly disinherits her daughter and granddaughter . . . .” Breliant “caused and directed the preparation of these documents . . . .” Plaintiffs further allege they did not learn of Decedent’s death for 11 months. Plaintiffs also allege that after Decedent’s death, Breliant hired Caldin to assist Breliant “as the Purported Trustee to administer the Trust.” “Defendant Caldin was the only attorney that [sic] could assist Defendant Breliant because she [Caldin] knew” the estate planning documents were void. Caldin and Breliant failed to notify plaintiffs of the trust distribution “for one purpose, . . . to distribute the Tasker Estate to Defendants, with

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Bluebook (online)
Zipdjian v. Caldin CA2/1, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/zipdjian-v-caldin-ca21-calctapp-2024.