Kim

Chul Ki Kim seeks extraordinary relief from the superior court’s order appointing a new temporary judge to take the place of Judge Lloyd Blanpied, a retired Orange County Superior Court judge, who died during the proceedings. Kim claims the original stipulation for a temporary judge did not authorize the court to appoint a different temporary judge without his consent. We agree and grant the writ.

Facts

This lawsuit, involving a dispute following a sale of stock in a closely held corporation, has a long history with this court. Kim and his brothers formed Palmeo Corporation to run an import-export business, which included contracts to supply flatware to a restaurant chain and to two major airlines. After the brothers became embroiled in disputes, Kim agreed to sell his Palmeo stock to the corporation, take the flatware business, and leave. He did so, but Palmeo refused to transfer the flatware accounts to him and continued to pursue flatware business. In 1984, Kim sued Palmeo and his brothers, obtaining a judgment in 1987. Palmeo unsuccessfully appealed, and the case was returned to the trial court for postjudgment proceedings, including Kim’s demand for an accounting…