Estate of McMahon CA1/1

BACKGROUND

David McMahon was an attorney who specialized in performing legal audits—that is, he reviewed attorneys’ fees for insurance companies and other individuals and entities to make sure they were reasonable and necessary, and the client was not overpaying. He also testified as an expert witness as to the reasonableness of fees. To perform this work, McMahon was required to generate detailed audits of the billing records at issue. In January 2016, McMahon left his partnership with a law firm and went into business for himself, focusing on his legal audit work. He enlisted the services of Boyko, his former legal assistant, Bogdan Viner, Boyko’s life partner who had a background in IT, and Esfir Viner, Bogdan’s sister who had a background in accounting.1 After working together successfully for slightly over a year, McMahon’s relationships with the three soured, and they ceased working for him. In September 2018, Boyko filed a complaint against McMahon, alleging, as is relevant here, causes of action for unpaid wages (Lab. Code, § 204), waiting time penalties (id., § 203), unfair business practices under the UCL, and quantum meruit. In addition, Boyko alleged an…