Worton

Plaintiff appeals from summary judgment entered against her and in favor of defendants.

Facts

Plaintiff sued her former husband, Eugene W. Worton, M.D. (Worton), for damages for fraud and conversion, and her former attorney, Robert Newell (Newell), for damages for legal malpractice.

The complaint, filed January 24, 1989, contained four causes of action. The first cause of action (fraud and deceit) alleged: On May 17, 1984, plaintiff filed a petition for dissolution of marriage against defendant Worton. On August 22, 1986, following a trial, judgment of dissolution was entered. The judgment purported to divide equally all community assets of the parties, including the “Defined Benefit Pension Plan” (the plan) of Worton, and included the following provision: “The parties shall create and recognize as to [the plan] the existence of [plaintiff’s] right to: [1] (1) An undivided one-half interest in the total value of accrued benefits of [Worton] plus any accrued and accumulated interest and earnings payable in accordance with the terms of [the plan]. As of September 30, 1985, the estimated distributable benefits payable thereunder were $501,061.27.” Worton represented to…

I concur wholeheartedly with the ruling and the rationale of that part of the majority’s decision which reverses the summary judgment as to respondent Worton. I concur separately, however, to register a concern about the limited reading the majority gives to our earlier decision in Robinson v. McGinn (1987) 195 Cal.App.3d 66 [ 240 Cal.Rptr. 423 ] in the course of affirming the summary judgment as to respondent Newell.

I concur in the Newell judgment because I agree the harm was “irremediable” in the instant case even though appellant conceivably could file a future motion requesting the trial court to modify its award. In my opinion, the mere possibility the plaintiff might sometime file an independent legal action which might serve to mitigate the damages the defendant’s malpractice caused does not make the plaintiff’s harm “remediable.”

I depart from the majority opinion, however, when it implies the rationale of our Robinson opinion is limited to administrative appeals. True, that case happened to involve a situation where the plaintiff’s harm did not become “irremedial” until he lost an administrative appeal of an administrative body’s initial determination against him. The…

Plaintiff appeals from summary judgment entered against her and in favor of defendants.

Plaintiff sued her former husband, Eugene W. Worton, M.D. (Worton), for damages for fraud and conversion, and her former attorney, Robert Newell (Newell), for damages for legal malpractice. [1]

The complaint, filed January 24, 1989, contained four causes of action. The first cause of action (fraud and deceit) alleged: On May 17, 1984, plaintiff filed a petition for dissolution of marriage against defendant Worton. On August 22, 1986, following a trial, judgment of dissolution was entered. The judgment purported to divide equally all community assets of the parties, including the "Defined Benefit Pension Plan" (the plan) of Worton, and included the following provision: "The parties shall create and recognize as to [the plan] the existence of [plaintiff's] right to: [¶] (1) An undivided one-half interest in the total value of accrued benefits of [Worton] plus any accrued and accumulated interest and earnings payable in accordance with the terms of [the plan]. As of September 30, 1985, the estimated distributable benefits payable thereunder were $501,061.27." Worton…