Cantu

Appeal from a judgment of dismissal by the Los Angeles County Superior Court, the Honorable Valerie Baker, Judge Presiding, following the sustaining of demurrers without leave to amend. We affirm.

I.

Introduction

Appellant Cesar C. Cantu’s (Cantu) first amended complaint alleges that defendants Lincoln Savings & Loan Association (Lincoln) and Robin S. Symes, its former president (collectively, the Lincoln defendants), through their attorneys, Parker, Milliken, Clark, O’Hara and Samuelian and Robert A. Gutkin (collectively, the Parker defendants) improperly initiated an inter-pleader action by naming Cantu as a claimant.

Cantu alleges that the defendants tortiously prosecuted the interpleader action because (a) there were no competing claimants to the stake, and (b) they named Cantu as a claimant to the stake to create a false appearance of a controversy which did not exist, all in an effort to relieve Lincoln of funds to which it asserted no claim.

II.

Contentions

Cantu’s appeal presents, in essence, two fundamental contentions for this court to resolve: first, whether or not the defendants properly filed the interpleader action based on a dispute between…