Vogt, Resnick, Sherak, LLP v. Horst CA4/3

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff is a law firm. It filed a complaint in the superior court’s limited civil division against defendant stating a single cause of action for breach of contract that sought recovery of nearly $16,500 in damages. The complaint alleged that in April 2010 defendant, by written agreement, retained plaintiff “to represent her as temporary and proposed conservator” of her mother in a pending probate proceeding and, in return for its services, she promised to pay “all amounts due on monthly statements for fees and costs incurred.” According to the complaint, defendant breached the agreement when she “stopped paying amounts due on the monthly statements sent to her . . . for services rendered pu[r]suant to the parties’ legal representation agreement.”

2 A copy of the parties’ agreement was attached to the complaint. In part, it stated that, in return for plaintiff undertaking “the legal representation of [defendant] as temporary and proposed conservator with respect to the conservatorship,” defendant agreed that, “[s]ubject to Court approval, [she] will pay . . . attorneys’ fees for the legal services provided under this Agreement at the respective…