Ceccato v Bonis Cross-Complaint, San Mateo County Superior Court Case Number CIV532571.


From the court's tentative ruling and online county case records it is Lawzilla's understanding the following occurred:

Attorney Peter Bonis was sued for breach of fiduciary duty and malpractice in a cross-complaint filed in the lawsuit.

He is named in the lawsuit as an attorney defendant with reference to his California State Bar number.




There is a claim that attorney Bonis breached his fiduciary duty by instructing his clients to take an action which caused them to be sued.

There is an allegation Mr. Bonis signed and filed tax returns which are relevant to the case.




Similar allegations are made in a legal malpractice cause of action against the attorney.

It is claimed Peter Bonis, Esq., breached his duties of using professional care and ethical duties of good faith toward his clients.




However, instead of defending himself from claims that he acted inappropriately as an attorney, Peter Bonis allowed his default to be taken.




Lawzilla could not find anything in the court record indicating Bonis had attempted to set aside his default.

But there is a declaration under penalty of perjury from Mr. Bonis stating he purposefully defaulted for unspecified "tactical reasons".




Peter Bonis' former clients then filed a motion to have Bonis disqualified as an attorney representing other parties in the case.

Attorney Bonis did not appear for the hearing. Apparently, everyone agreed to the judge's tentative ruling disqualifying the attorney.

The order became final where the judge ordered Bonis disqualified and removed from representation.

In our opinion the most interesting part of this situation, even more interesting than an attorney defaulting on a malpractice claim, is the judge mentioning Bonis claimed under penalty of perjury to have a written conflict waiver but did not provide it, and his client declared there was none.

From the judge:




This is the paragraph from attorney Peter Bonis' declaration referred to by the judge.

Again, this statement is under penalty of perjury.




This is what the client testified to under penalty of perjury, as referenced by the judge.




The judge referred to a professional rule where attorney's are required to obtain written consent to any conflict of interest.




The judge noted attorney Peter Bonis declared he obtained written consent, but did not provide it.

The judge ruled there was no evidence of any consent and removed Bonis from representing his client.

In Lawzilla's opinion - this is bad.


There is a California jury instruction, we suspect Peter Bonis, Esq., is familiar with, which says if one fails to provide good evidence, such as their written consent with a client they are required to have, then their weaker evidence can be distrusted.




There is another jury instruction saying if evidence is concealed then it can be decided the evidence was unfavorable to him.







What Ethical Duties Does an Attorney Have?

According to the State Bar, the California Rules of Professional Conduct are rules designed to regulate the conduct of licensed California lawyers.

Rule 3.3 imposes two requirements on attorneys.

First, an attorney shall not knowingly make any false statement of fact to a court.

Second, an attorney shall correct any false statement of material fact made to a court.

From our interpretation of the court's ruling, in our opinion if Peter Bonis in fact does not have a client written consent he may have violated both ethical rules. In that event he may have falsely declared a consent document existed which does not exist.

We do not see anything showing that he corrected it. Instead, he argued this position to the court in a declaration.


What Other Laws May Attorney Bonis Have Violated if there is No Written Consent?

California Business and Professions Code section 6068(d) prohibits an attorney from misleading a judge by making a false statement of fact.

A violation can result in discipline by the State Bar, including a potential suspension from the practice of law or disbarment.


What is the penalty if an attorney commits perjury?

Obviously, making false statements and/or trying to mislead a court is a very serious matter. Especially when one is an attorney.

An attorney could be disciplined by the State Bar. He could be disbarred and lose his license to practice law.

Someone committing perjury can also be sent to state prison. We saw this online from the Shouse California Law Group:




Bottom line: The written consent was not provided to the judge.

Until attorney Peter Bonis produces the consent we would not recommend his professional legal services.

The judge referred to this issue in the court order. We do not know if attorney Bonis committed perjury or any ethical violations, but we wonder why he declared a document exists but did not provide it. Especially when, given our read of the court order, that might have prevented his disqualification and he would seemingly owe a duty to his clients to submit the document.

Peter Bonis was admitted to the California Bar in 1985. Bar Number 122016.

Law Office Peter H Bonis
1990 North California Boulevard 8th Floor
Walnut Creek, California 94596

Law School: McGeorge School of Law