Kleveland

This is the third appeal arising out of a probate matter involving Scott Leach’s (Scott) challenge of the trustee’s (Kendall Kleveland (Kendall)) handling of a trust. In the first appeal, we affirmed the trial court’s final judgment resolving, among other issues, Scott’s petition for breach of trust and removal of Kendall as trustee. (See Leach v. Kleveland (Mar. 24, 2010, D054532) [nonpub. opn.] (Leach v. Kleveland).) In that opinion, we affirmed the judgment in its entirety, including the trial court’s determination that Scott filed and pursued the petition in “bad faith” and for “improper purpose.”

In the second appeal, Scott challenged an order approving a petition for approval of accounting and proposed plan of distribution of trust assets. As part of that appeal, Boris Siegel filed a brief appealing the court’s award of sanctions against him. We affirmed both the order and the award of sanctions. (See Leach v. Kleveland (Nov. 20, 2012, D061371) [nonpub. opn.].)

This third appeal involves a malicious prosecution suit brought by Kendall against Scott and his attorneys Siegel & Wolensky, LLP; Boris Siegel; Lewis M. Wolensky; and Joshua J. Herndon (collectively…