Lawrence v. Catanzarite
Filed 6/28/06 Lawrence v. Catanzarite CA4/3
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS
California Rules of Court, rule 977(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 977(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION THREE
| REBECCA G. LAWRENCE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. KENNETH J. CATANZARITE et al., Defendants and Appellants. | G036239 (Super. Ct. No. 795209) O P I N I O N |
Appeal from an order of the Superior Court of Orange County, James M. Brooks, Judge. Affirmed.
Catanzarite Law Corporation and Jim Travis Tice for Defendants and Appellants.
Boyd S. Lemon for Plaintiff and Respondent.
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Kenneth Catanzarite appeals the trial court's order setting aside the dismissal of the action against him by Rebecca Lawrence for failure to bring the case to trial within three years after the issuance of the remittitur. Catanzarite contends Lawrence's motion to set aside the dismissal was untimely and, in any event, no exception applies to prevent the mandatory dismissal. We affirm.
FACTS
Kenneth Catanzarite provided legal representation to Rebecca Lawrence in the collection of a personal injury judgment in her favor. He also rented an apartment to her and caused several corporations he controlled to employ her. But problems between them ensued: Lawrence filed workers compensation claims and wage claims against some of the employing corporations and complained about Catanzarite's legal fees.
After a portion of the personal injury judgment was collected, Lawrence and Catanzarite entered into an agreement settling their claims against each other in which Lawrence agreed to drop several of the workers compensation claims. Nonetheless, Lawrence subsequently filed this action against Catanzarite, seeking to rescind the settlement agreement and recover damages for legal malpractice, fraud, breach of contract, wrongful termination, and breach of fiduciary duty.
Catanzarite raised the settlement agreement as a defense and obtained summary judgment on the complaint. Lawrence substituted in Boyd S. Lemon as her trial counsel; he listed his address as 12304 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025-2551. Lemon filed a motion for new trial and a notice of appeal after the new trial motion was denied. He prosecuted the appeal up to the filing of the opening brief; at that point, Donald P. Wagner substituted in for Lawrence â€
