Michael K. v. Cho CA1/5

BACKGROUND

A.

S.J. filed her request for DVRO in propria persona a month before hiring Cho. In that DVRO petition, and a later filed civil tort action (where she was represented by different counsel), S.J. alleged Michael had repeatedly choked, pushed, punched, and raped her, monitored her with tracking devices and cameras, financially abused her, and emotionally abused their children by committing violent attacks in their presence.

Between October 11, 2022 and November 14, 2022, while Cho represented S.J., her legal fees (totaling $92,211) were charged to a credit card issued by Chase Bank. Both Michael and S.J. were authorized users of the community property card. In November 2022, Michael utilized Chase’s chargeback dispute process to challenge a $50,000 payment to Cho. Eleven days later, Michael again used Chase’s chargeback dispute process to challenge a $23,331.55 payment to Cho for S.J.’s legal services. Michael claimed the charges were “excessive or duplicative of other charges.”

In response to Michael’s dispute, Cho’s legal practice management and billing vendor, MyCase, prompted Cho to supply information and documents explaining why the disputed charges were bona…