Modification: Mireskandari v. Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP

SHAHROKH MIRESKANDARI,

Plaintiff and Appellant,

v.

EDWARDS WILDMAN PALMER LLP et al.,

Defendants and Respondents.

No. B301785

Los Angeles County
Super. Ct. No. BC517799

California Court of Appeal

Second Appellate District

Division Three

Filed April 25, 2022

ORDER MODIFYING OPINION

[NO CHANGE IN JUDGMENT]

THE COURT:

It is ordered that the opinion filed on April 8, 2022, be modified as follows:

The following additional paragraph should be added to footnote 1, on page 3:

"Mireskandari's lead appellate counsel, Becky S. James, filed the opening brief and appellant's appendix while at her former firm, James & Associates. In mid-2021, James merged her former firm with Dykema Gosset, and Mireskandari retained Dykema Gosset to represent him in this appeal and to file the appellant's reply brief on his behalf. In his reply brief, Mireskandari opposed the motion for sanctions without authorization. (Rule 8.276(d) ["An opposition [to a motion for sanctions] may not be filed unless the court sends [written] notice" that it is considering imposing sanctions.].) He asserted the motion was "meritless," arguing (among other things) his 9,700-page appellant's appendix necessarily complied with the California Rules of Court because, if it had not, this court's "clerk would have had a duty to reject it." (See rule 8.18 ["Except as these rules provide otherwise, the reviewing court clerk must not file any record or other document that does not conform to these rules."].) The argument naturally ignored that, notwithstanding the reviewing court clerk's role under rule 8.18, sanctions are authorized for unreasonable rule violations when those violations appear in a duly filed document. (See rule 8.276, subd. (a)(4).) Ultimately, when this court notified Mireskandari we were considering imposing sanctions and authorized him to file an opposition, his appellate counsel acknowledged the rule violations in his appendix and opening brief."

There is no change in the judgment.

EGERTON, J.

LAVIN, Acting P. J.

LIPNER, J.*

*Judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, assigned by the Chief Justice pursuant to article VI, section 6 of the California Constitution.