Ruano
Ruano v. Goldberg CA2/4
Opinion
Opinion
Mori, J.
BACKGROUND
A. Ruano’s Allegations The following allegations are taken from Ruano’s initial complaint. Ruano was married to Luis, who had an adult son, Roberto, from a prior relationship. Ruano and her father co-owned a
Laura Ruano shares a surname with two nonparties who are mentioned in this opinion, her former husband, Luis Ruano, and Luis’s son, Roberto Ruano II. We refer to the plaintiff, Laura, as “Ruano” and to Luis and Roberto by their first names. All statutory references are to the Code of Civil Procedure.
2 restaurant, and in 2019, Ruano alleged, they turned to Roberto for legal assistance. Goldberg is a lawyer, and Roberto worked at her firm in a non-attorney role. According to Ruano, Goldberg held herself out as Ruano’s attorney, and in exchange for discounts on food, provided legal advice and services to her, the restaurant, and Luis. Goldberg did not ask Ruano to sign a conflict of interest waiver and did not explain that joint representation of Ruano, the restaurant, and Luis prevented her from litigating for one party against the other “in violation of the California Code of Ethics and Rules . . . .” Problems arose between Luis and Ruano in 2020.…