Flannery

BACKGROUND

Assertion of the lien In October 2009, defendant Scott Tepper and his law firm were retained by plaintiff Patrick Flannery and Andrea Murray, an unmarried couple, to prosecute an action against Southern California Gas Company (SCGC) for damage to real and personal property suffered in connection with the Sesnon wildfire. Their written retainer agreement provided that the firm’s compensation would be approximately one-third of any recovery obtained. The agreement further provided that the firm was entitled to a lien on any recovery to secure payment of fees and costs. On behalf of Flannery and Murray, Tepper’s firm caused a lawsuit to be filed against SCGC (the wildfire action). After the filing of that action, Murray and Flannery became involved in separate litigation with each other (the Murray-Flannery litigation). In September 2010, believing there was a nonwaivable conflict, Tepper advised Flannery and Murray that he and his firm could no longer represent them jointly. Murray retained new counsel. Flannery insisted that Tepper remain as counsel for him, which Tepper did until June 2012, when Tepper decided that he was ethically required to withdraw from…