Ortiz

I.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A motor vehicle accident occurred on August 15, 2019, during which, according to Ortiz, Vazquez’s vehicle, driven by Mendez, rear-ended Ortiz’s vehicle on the freeway in stopped traffic. Ortiz alleges that as a result of the accident, she incurred chronic lower back pain, upper back pain, neck and shoulder pain and headaches. Vazquez and Mendez were insured by the Automobile Club of Southern California (ACSC). The dealings between the claims representatives for ACSC and Ortiz’s attorney, Edward Alberola, are especially relevant to the issues raised in this appeal. We will accordingly set forth a detailed description of those dealings, along with the other relevant procedural history. At some point after the accident, Ortiz filed a claim with ACSC, acting on her own behalf. Later, on October 19, 2020, her attorney, Alberola, became involved and contacted ACSC about the claim.

Unless otherwise indicated, all further statutory references are to the Code of Civil Procedure.

2 On July 29, 2021, Alberola sent Ortiz’s medical records to ACSC, made a demand to settle the claim, and threatened to file suit if a settlement was not reached.…