Cazares v. Saenz

256 Cal. Rptr. 209 (1989)

From our private database of 46,400+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Cazares v. Saenz

California Court of Appeal
256 Cal. Rptr. 209 (1989)

RW

Facts

Raul Gutierrez retained Phil Saenz (defendant) to represent him in a personal-injury suit. Saenz, an inexperienced lawyer, retained the partnership of Roy Cazares and Thomas Tosdal (plaintiffs) to join him as cocounsel in return for half of any attorney’s fees. Saenz particularly wanted to work with Cazares and did not feel comfortable working with Tosdal. Saenz and Cazares orally agreed that Cazares would handle all or most of the partnership’s share of the work and that to the extent that Tosdal did any work on the case, he would do so only indirectly and without any contact with Saenz. Cazares worked on the case until he was appointed to a municipal judgeship, after which the Cazares-Tosdal partnership was dissolved. Tosdal offered to take over Cazares’s role, but Saenz turned Tosdal down and found other cocounsel. Together, Saenz and his new cocounsel settled the Gutierrez case for a large sum. Both Cazares and Tosdal sued Saenz to recover half of the attorney’s fees. The case was heard by a referee, who ruled in the former partners’ favor. Saenz appealed to the California Court of Appeal.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Wiener, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,400 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,400 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership