Shtofman v Arch Los Angeles County Superior Court Case Number BC611057.


From the appellate ruling it is Lawzilla's understanding the following occurred:

This is a lawsuit brought by attorney Robert Shtofman relating to the payment of attorney fees.

Mr. Shtofman represented the plaintiff in a case but then he was discharged.

His former client later settled the dispute.

Attorney Shtofman claimed a lien on the settlement and sued various defendants to recover his fees.




During the litigation Robert Shtofman, Esq.'s deposition was noticed to be taken.

However, Mr. Shtofman did not appear and a motion to compel his testimony was filed.

The trial judge ordered Shtofman to pay $1560 in sanctions.




Shtofman then filed a motion to set aside the judge's order.

The judge denied the request and ordered attorney Shtofman to pay another $700 in sanctions.




The judge also ordered Robert Shtofman to appear for his deposition on a specific date at 9:00 am.

After attorney Shtofman also failed to timely appear at the court ordered deposition defendant filed another motion for sanctions.

Although Shtofman filed an opposition brief, he filed it late and it was not considered by the judge.

The judge then imposed another $5400 in sanctions.







The judge noted there was "evidence of Shtofman's unduly engaging in gamesmanship, committing delays, and violating orders throughout the discovery process."

The judge also referred to "[Shtofman's]seemingly irrational conduct"




Shtofman then filed an appeal.

The court of appeal ruled the two sanctions orders of less than $5000 were not appealable at that particular time in the litigation.




As to the $5400 sanctions order, the appellate judges ruled Shtofman's arguments were "meritless".




The justices also noted attorney Robert Shtofman had failed to provide a complete record for the appeal and thus was not able to demonstrate an abuse of discretion by the trial judge.

Yikes.

If this is how an attorney handles his own case how do you think he would do with yours?

$7660 is a lot of sanctions.

- Not attend a deposition.

- File late brief.

- Not attend new deposition when ordered by court.

- Not include full record for appeal.

- Made 'meritless' claims.

- References to 'irrational conduct', gamesmanship, delays, and violating court orders.


Lawzilla found a California State Bar order, involving a different attorney, that being sanctioned and violating a court order can lead to State Bar discipline for failing to competently perform legal services. Although maybe it does not matter if the attorney is their own client.




We also saw that attorney Robert Shtofman has a prior history of being discliplined by the California State Bar.

On the other hand, another issue in the appeal was whether two of the causes of action Shtofman alleged for why he was entitled to attorney fees had been improperly dismissed by the trial judge.

The court of appeals ruled they were not, in favor of Shtofman, and the potential value of the attorney's fees claim seemed to far exceed the amount of sanctions being awarded.

Robert Shtofman was admitted to the California Bar in 1988. Bar Number 135577.

Law Office Robert Scott Shtofman
18150 Chardon Circle
Encino, California 91316

Law School: California Western School of Law



Lawzilla Note: The 18150 Chardon Circle address appears to be a residential address per a Zillow listing and picture for the address.

Sanctions are Recoverable as a Judgment - Analysis of the little known fact that sanctions awarded in a lawsuit can be enforced as their own separate judgment. Surprise someone by putting a lien on their bank account, home, wages, etc.