Rullan et al v. Rhee et al, No. 2:2022cv00597 - Document 30 (D. Nev. 2023)
Court Description: ORDER Granting 28 Motion to Withdraw as Attorney and 29 Motion to Shorten Time. Attorneys Ashveen Singh Dhillon and Martin I. Melendrez withdrawn from the case. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that defense counsel must serve a copy of this order on Lusso Auto, LLC and Jong Min Rhee and file a notice with the Court confirming such service by 2/17/2023. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Lusso Auto, LLC must retain counsel and have counsel file a notice of appearance by 3/10/2023. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of Court is to update Defendants' addresses in accordance with ECF No. 28 at 6. Signed by Magistrate Judge Brenda Weksler on 2/9/2023. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - TRW)
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Rullan et al v. Rhee et al Doc. 30 Case 2:22-cv-00597-APG-BNW Document 28 Filed 02/08/23 Page 1 of 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 MARTIN I. MELENDREZ, ESQ. Nevada Bar No. 7818 ASHVEEN S. DHILLON, ESQ. Nevada Bar No. 14189 HAWKINS MELENDREZ, P.C. 1645 Village Center Circle, Suite 160 Las Vegas, Nevada 89134 Phone: (702) 318-8800 Fax: (702) 318-8801 mmelendrez@hawkinsmelendrez.com adhillon@hawkinsmelendrez.com Attorneys for Defendants 9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT HAWKINS MELENDREZ, P.C. 1645 Village Center Circle, Suite 160 Las Vegas, Nevada 89134 Telephone (702) 318-8800 • Facsimile (702) 318-8801 10 11 12 DISTRICT OF NEVADA ALJOSHUA RULLAN, an individual, and CHERYL RULLAN, an individual, 13 Plaintiffs, 14 vs. 15 JONG MIN RHEE (aka JOHN LUSSO); LUSSO AUTO, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company, dba LUSSO AUTO SPA & DESIGN and LUSSO AUTO DESIGN; DOES I through X, inclusive; and ROE CORPORATIONS I through X, inclusive, 16 17 18 19 Case No.: 2:22-cv-00597-APG-BNW MOTION TO WITHDRAW AS COUNSEL OF RECORD FOR DEFENDANTS ON ORDER SHORTENING TIME Defendants. 20 21 COME NOW, Martin I. Melendrez, Esq. and Ashveen S. Dhillon, Esq. of the law firm 22 Hawkins Melendrez, P.C., counsel of record for Defendants LUSSO AUTO, LLC and JONG MIN 23 RHEE (collectively “Defendants”) and hereby move this Honorable Court for an Order to allow 24 counsel to withdraw as attorneys of record for Defendants pursuant to LR IA 11-6 on order shortening 25 time. 26 /// 27 /// 28 /// 1 Dockets.Justia.com Case 2:22-cv-00597-APG-BNW Document 28 Filed 02/08/23 Page 2 of 6 1 This Motion is made and based upon the Memorandum of Points and Authorities, the exhibits 2 attached hereto, the pleadings and papers on file herein, and any argument the Court may entertain at 3 the time of hearing. Dated this 8th day of February 2023. 4 5 HAWKINS MELENDREZ, P.C. 6 7 /s/ Martin I. Melendrez _________________________________ MARTIN I. MELENDREZ, ESQ. Nevada Bar No. 7818 ASHVEEN S. DHILLON, ESQ. Nevada Bar No. 14189 1645 Village Center Circle, Suite 160 Las Vegas, NV 89134 Phone: (702) 318-8800 Attorneys for Defendants 8 9 HAWKINS MELENDREZ, P.C. 1645 Village Center Circle, Suite 160 Las Vegas, Nevada 89134 Telephone (702) 318-8800 • Facsimile (702) 318-8801 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES A. LEGAL ARGUMENT Hawkins Melendrez, P.C., attorneys of record for Defendants LUSSO AUTO, LLC and JONG MIN RHEE seek leave from this Honorable Court to withdraw as counsel of record for all these parties. Local Rule IA 11-6 states the following in pertinent part: LR IA 11-6. Appearances, Substitutions, And Withdrawals 20 […] 21 23 (b) If an attorney seeks to withdraw after appearing in a case, the attorney must file a motion or stipulation and serve it on the affected client and opposing counsel. The affected client may, but is not required to, file a response to the attorney’s motion within 14 days of the filing of the motion, unless the court orders otherwise. 24 […] 22 25 26 27 28 (e) Except for good cause shown, no withdrawal or substitution will be approved if it will result in delay of discovery, the trial, or any hearing in the case. Where delay would result, the papers seeking leave of the court for the withdrawal or substitution must request specific relief from the scheduled discovery, trial, or hearing. If a trial 2 Case 2:22-cv-00597-APG-BNW Document 28 Filed 02/08/23 Page 3 of 6 2 setting has been made, an additional copy of the moving papers must be provided to the clerk for immediate delivery to the assigned district judge, bankruptcy judge, or magistrate judge. 3 Further, Nevada Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 1.16 provides for the procedure in which 1 4 5 Rule 1.16. 6 (a) Except as stated in paragraph (c), a lawyer shall not represent a client or, where representation has commenced, shall withdraw from the representation of a client if: … (b) Except as stated in paragraph (c), a lawyer may withdraw from representing a client if: (1) Withdrawal can be accomplished without material adverse effect on the interests of the client; (2) The client persists in a course of action involving the lawyer’s services that the lawyer reasonably believes is criminal or fraudulent; (3) The client has used the lawyer’s services to perpetrate a crime or fraud; (4) A client insists upon taking action that the lawyer considers repugnant or with which the lawyer has fundamental disagreement; (5) The client fails substantially to fulfill an obligation to the lawyer regarding the lawyer’s services and has been given reasonable warning that the lawyer will withdraw unless the obligation is fulfilled; (6) The representation will result in an unreasonable financial burden on the lawyer or has been rendered unreasonably difficult by the client; or (7) Other good cause for withdrawal exists. (c) A lawyer must comply with applicable law requiring notice to or permission of a tribunal when terminating representation. When ordered to do so by a tribunal, a lawyer shall continue representation notwithstanding good cause for terminating the representation. (d) Upon termination of representation, a lawyer shall take steps to the extent reasonably practicable to protect a client’s interests, such as giving reasonable notice to the client, allowing time for employment of other counsel, surrendering papers and property to which the client is entitled and refunding any advance payment of fee or expense that has not been earned or incurred. The lawyer may retain papers relating to the client to the extent permitted by other law. 7 8 9 10 HAWKINS MELENDREZ, P.C. 1645 Village Center Circle, Suite 160 Las Vegas, Nevada 89134 Telephone (702) 318-8800 • Facsimile (702) 318-8801 an attorney may withdraw from representation: 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Declining or Terminating Representation. Counsel submits this motion pursuant to LR IA 11-6, and requests leave of this Court to immediately withdraw as counsel for Defendants LUSSO AUTO, LLC and JONG MIN RHEE pursuant to Rule 1.16(b)(5) and 1.16(b)(7). Defendants have failed to abide by the terms of their engagement agreement with Hawkins Melendrez, P.C. regarding effective communication with counsel, which has impaired counsel’s ability to effectively represent Defendants in this matter and 3 Case 2:22-cv-00597-APG-BNW Document 28 Filed 02/08/23 Page 4 of 6 1 Defendants have failed to abide by other terms of said agreement. See Exhibit A, Declaration of 2 Martin I. Melendrez, Esq. 3 Defendants have been given reasonable warning via telephonic and written communications 4 that counsel will withdraw unless the obligations are fulfilled, and Defendants have acknowledged 5 their understanding of the same. Id. In addition, counsel and the clients have reached an impasse 6 regarding management of the case which renders counsel unable to carry out their duties of 7 representation. Id. For these reasons it is no longer feasible for counsel to represent Defendants. Id. 8 Accordingly, good cause exists for this Court to grant leave for counsel to withdraw from 9 representation of Lusso Auto, LLC, and Mr. Rhee. A copy of this motion has been sent to the clients HAWKINS MELENDREZ, P.C. 1645 Village Center Circle, Suite 160 Las Vegas, Nevada 89134 Telephone (702) 318-8800 • Facsimile (702) 318-8801 10 notifying them of counsel’s request for leave to immediately withdraw from representation. 11 Pursuant to Rule 1.16(b)(1), counsel believes withdrawal can be accomplished without 12 material adverse effect on the interests of Defendants because counsel previously advised the clients 13 of their intent to withdraw from representation and given the discovery and trial dates in the parties’ 14 Stipulated Discovery Plan and Scheduling Order dated November 10, 2022 [ECF 23], there is 15 sufficient time for Defendants to obtain new counsel should they choose to do so. Further, the Court’s 16 Minutes dated December 12, 2022 pertaining to the parties’ participation in settlement negotiations 17 states that pending these negotiations, discovery in this matter would be stayed by 60 days from the 18 date of those Minutes, and that in the event that there is no resolution, the parties would be required 19 to submit a new Discovery Plan and Scheduling Order extending the current deadlines by another 60 20 days. Hence, no delay of the trial or of any hearing for any other matter in the case will result from 21 counsel’s withdrawal. 22 Based on the foregoing, the law firm of Hawkins Melendrez, P.C., respectfully requests that 23 this Court grant this instant Motion to Withdraw as Counsel of Record for Defendants LUSSO AUTO, 24 LLC and JONG MIN RHEE. 25 /// 26 /// 27 /// 28 /// 4 Case 2:22-cv-00597-APG-BNW Document 28 Filed 02/08/23 Page 5 of 6 1 CONCLUSION 2 Based on the foregoing, the law firm of Hawkins Melendrez, P.C. respectfully requests that 3 this Honorable Court issue an Order allowing it to withdraw as counsel of record for Defendants 4 LUSSO AUTO, LLC and JONG MIN RHEE. 5 6 7 8 9 10 HAWKINS MELENDREZ, P.C. 1645 Village Center Circle, Suite 160 Las Vegas, Nevada 89134 Telephone (702) 318-8800 • Facsimile (702) 318-8801 B. 11 12 13 14 Dated this 8th day of February 2023. HAWKINS MELENDREZ, P.C. /s/ Martin I. Melendrez _________________________________ MARTIN I. MELENDREZ, ESQ. Nevada Bar No. 7818 ASHVEEN S. DHILLON, ESQ. Nevada Bar No. 14189 1645 Village Center, Circle Las Vegas, NV 89134 Phone: (702) 318-8800 Attorneys for Defendants ORDER 15 IT IS ORDERED that ECF Nos. 28 and 29 are GRANTED. 16 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that defense counsel must serve a copy of this order on Lusso Auto, LLC and Jong Min Rhee and file a notice with the Court confirming such service by 2/17/2023. 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Lusso Auto, LLC must retain counsel and have counsel file a notice of appearance by 3/10/2023. See In re Am. W. Airlines, 40 F.3d 1058, 1059 (9th Cir. 1994) (stating that "[c]orporations and other unincorporated associations must appear in court through an attorney."). Failure to comply with this order may result in sanctions. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of Court is to update Defendants' addresses in accordance with ECF No. 28 at 6. 24 IT IS SO ORDERED 25 DATED: 5:23 pm, February 09, 2023 26 27 28 BRENDA WEKSLER UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 5 Case 2:22-cv-00597-APG-BNW Document 28 Filed 02/08/23 Page 6 of 6 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 1 2 I, the undersigned, hereby certify that on the 8th day of February 2023, a true and correct copy 3 of the foregoing MOTION TO WITHDRAW AS COUNSEL OF RECORD FOR 4 DEFENDANTS ON ORDER SHORTENING TIME, was filed and served to the below through 5 the Court’s ECF service as follows: 6 7 8 9 HAWKINS MELENDREZ, P.C. 1645 Village Center Circle, Suite 160 Las Vegas, Nevada 89134 Telephone (702) 318-8800 • Facsimile (702) 318-8801 10 11 12 Tye S. Hanseen, Esq. MARQUIS AURBACH 10001 Park Run Drive Las Vegas, Nevada 89145 Attorneys for Plaintiffs John Rhee 35 Sankaty Circle Henderson, NV 89052 Via Email and U.S. Mail Lusso Auto, LLC 1125 American Pacific Dr., Ste. F. Henderson NV 89074. Via U.S. Mail 13 14 /s/ Denise Giancola ___________________________________ An employee of Hawkins Melendrez, P.C. 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 6
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