Bishop v. Middleton CA2/5
Attorney Lyle Middleton claimed that in 1999 he was given a Deed of Trust on a piece of property in order to secure the owner’s obligation to pay his attorney fees. Prior to the owner’s death, the owner placed the property in a trust. In 2017, the trust agreed to sell the property. Attorney Middleton delivered his demand to escrow to collect on the obligation secured by the Deed of Trust. The trust responded by petitioning to have the Deed of Trust declared invalid pursuant to several statutes, one of which was Business and Professions Code section 6148 (section 6148), which requires that, in order for a contract for legal services to be valid certain terms must be in writing. The trial court found that the underlying agreement secured by the Deed of Trust did not comply with section 6148, and extinguished the lien. The issue on appeal is whether the trial court erred in its application of section 6148 to the facts of this case. We agree with the trial court and affirm.
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