Chris Ford Wins
Partial Reversal in
Pro Bono Appeal
LOS ANGELES, January 24, 2008 – Working pro bono, Chris Ford
won a partial reversal in the California Court of Appeal. Mr. Ford, a Los
Angeles sole practitioner, represented an indigent ex-wife who challenged
the property division in her marital dissolution case. Mr. Ford argued that
the trial court abused its discretion by entering judgment even though the
ex-husband had not complied with CaliforniaŐs strict asset-disclosure laws.
The ex-husband had failed to list in the disclosure declaration, which is
required of divorcing California couples, a loan of approximately $109,000
that his business owed him.
In the unpublished decision, Presiding Justice Epstein agreed
with Mr. FordŐs argument, finding that the ex-husbandŐs failure to disclose the
loan Ňresulted in a miscarriage of justice, in that [the ex-wife] agreed to the
division of property without knowledge of this asset.Ó
The Court of Appeal set aside the judgment with respect to the
loan and remanded with directions to determine the ex-spousesŐ interest in the
loan. The appellate court further ordered the trial court to Ňconsider whether
to impose sanctions againstÓ the ex-husband for failure to disclose the loan,
as required by statute in such situations. The Court of Appeal affirmed the
judgment in all other respects. The case is In re Marriage of Hand (Jan. 24, 2008), B188184, in the
Second District, Division Four of the California Court of Appeal.
Mr. Ford represented the ex-wife as part of a program led by the
Los Angeles County Bar AssociationŐs Appellate Courts Committee to help
low-income persons take appeals they otherwise could not afford to pursue. The
Committee runs its Appellate Courts Pro Bono Pilot Project in conjunction with
Los Angeles public interest firm Public Counsel to provide pro bono assistance
to eligible civil litigants in the Second Appellate District, which includes
Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
Mr. Ford's Los Angeles practice includes probate, family and civil
litigation, civil rights and appeals.
Links:
http://www.cfordlaw.net
http://www.lacba.org/showpage.cfm?pageid=7662