Landmark Screens, LLC v. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP

Landmark Screens, LLC (Landmark), appeals from a judgment of dismissal following the sustaining of a demurrer in favor of respondents Thomas Kohler and his law firm, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP. Landmark contends that its complaint for legal malpractice in patent prosecution raised no substantial issue of federal patent law and the superior court therefore erred in ruling that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction. We agree with the lower court’s ruling on the facts presented and must therefore affirm the judgment.

Background

Because this appeal arises from the sustaining of a demurrer, we summarize the underlying facts as they are stated in the operative pleading, the first amended complaint. “Our only task in reviewing a ruling on a demurrer is to determine whether the complaint states a cause of action. Accordingly, we assume that the complaint’s properly pleaded material allegations are true and give the complaint a reasonable interpretation by reading it as a whole and all its parts in their context.” (Moore v. Regents of University of California (1990) 51 Cal.3d 120, 125 [ 271 Cal.Rptr. 146 , 793 P.2d 479 ].) Our summary further includes judicially noticeable…