We hired a contract attorney to appear at a demurrer. He failed to appear. Our demurrer was overruled and motion to strike was only partly g...

Question

We hired a contract attorney to appear at a demurrer. He failed to appear. Our demurrer was overruled and motion to strike was only partly granted. The case arises out of a failure to pay attorney fees in a family law case. There are now allegations of breach of contract against an attorney in our firm when the attorney was not a party to the written contract. He is the spouse of the defendant however. The overruling of the demurrer also allows the allegations of intentional fraud to remain in the complaint. Can the demurrer be appealed or a writ filed?

Answer

Really? You are licensed to practice in this state and you don't know what you can and cannot do in this situation? And you don't know how to research it yourself? Time to call your E&O carrier and up your coverage.

Answer

Your question is hard to understand, as Mr. McCormick's answer suggests. My sense, though, is that you are the former client and not the former lawyer or part of the law firm.

The orders you describe are not appealable. You can challenge them via a writ petition instead. But few writ petitions are granted. Nothing you have written suggests that yours would be among those few. You also will need to act quickly; for all I know you may already have waited too long.

Feel free to contact me directly if you want to discuss your case further. I am a certified appellate specialist with over 15 years of experience in the field.

Answer

Any order on a demurrer ruling is not appealable. Appeals can only be taken from a judgment of dismissal after a demurrer is sustained without leave to amend, or after leave to amend has been given but the party refuses to amend.

You could seek a writ, but those are discretionary with the court. You may want to look at other types of motions, such as a motion for judgment on the pleadings and/ or a summary judgment motion.