CourtCall remote service sues LA Courts for canceled contract

CourtCall, which allows remote appearances, sued Los Angeles County Superior Court seeking $3 million in damages, saying the court unlawfully and unjustifiably used the pandemic to terminate its written agreement with the company.

"In more than 25 years of service, this is the first instance in which CourtCall has been forced to bring ​such an action against a court system," Chief Executive Officer ​Robert Alvarado said in a statement. "While the pandemic heightened the legal sector's appreciation of and need for remote access, it did not affect CourtCall's ability to perform under its agreement with the LASC, nor did it excuse the LASC's willful disregard of its contractual obligations."

In response to the lawsuit filed Thursday, Ann E. Donlan, Los Angeles County Superior Court's communications director, said Friday, "The court has no comment."

CourtCall's claims include breach of contract and breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing. According to the complaint, both parties had agreed CourtCall would provide remote appearance services to the court until 2021, but the court "abruptly terminated and breached the agreement in May 2020." CourtCall LLC v. Los Angeles County Superior Court, 21STCV36098 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Sept. 30, 2021).

"In fact, notwithstanding LASC's notice of termination in May 2020 -- and despite the pandemic -- CourtCall continued serving LASC and the public until August 2020, handling thousands of remote appearances at LASC during the early, and most challenging, months of the pandemic," partners Jonathan G. Fetterly and John W. Amberg of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP wrote in the complaint on behalf of the company.

-- Kamila Knaudt