Torres

INTRODUCTION

Defendant Mark Irvin Blankenship was a California lawyer who resigned from the

State Bar with charges pending against him. Beginning in October 2004, plaintiffs Mary

1 Lou Torres and her brother, Angel Torres,1 had hired defendant to represent them and

their children in several matters. Defendant did not disclose to them until March 2006

that he was being investigated by the State Bar and had been suspended in January 2006.

Plaintiffs filed a complaint against defendant for breach of contract and fraud. On

the first day of trial, the trial court dismissed Angel for failure to appear (Code Civ. Proc.,

§ 581, subd. (b)(1))2 and granted defendant’s oral motion for judgment on the pleadings

(§ 438) against Mary Lou. The purported “judgment” prepared by defendant’s counsel

was not an appealable judgment. The trial court entered the actual judgment on

September 14, 2012.

Plaintiff Mary Lou appeals, arguing the trial court applied the wrong statute of

limitations and erred in finding that plaintiff had not pleaded fraud with sufficient

specificity. She also argues she was denied due process because she was not given an

adequate opportunity to respond to the…