Yeung

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW

The underlying action is a dispute among family members over the ownership of a corporation called Monryheng, Inc. which own real property in California. Plaintiff Yeung Sze Yeung, a resident of Hong Kong, claims that he owns 100 percent of the stock in Monryheng and is its president. Yeung brought an action in the Los Angeles County Superior Court under Corporations Code section 709 to determine the validity of the election or appointment of the directors of the corporation. At all times plaintiff has been represented by attorney Ernest J. Bartlett. The defendants are Mei Lin Yong, plaintiff’s cousin by marriage, who claims she is the president of the corporation, Andrew Lee, her son-in-law, and the corporation. Prior to his death, Mei Lin, Yong’s husband, operated the corporation. Defendants, represented by the law firm of Alexander and Yong, filed an answer to Yeung’s complaint. In January 2013, defendants Yong and Lee traveled to Hong Kong and met with plaintiff Yeung. They brought with them three documents prepared by their attorneys: (1) a Judicial Council Substitution of Attorneys form, substituting Yeung in propria persona for his attorney,…