Case Summary

4794 REVIEW DENIED A trustee of property to which there are conflicting claims does not exercise dominion over it or convert it to his/her own use by interpleading it, and is not liable for conversion in doing so; a complaint for professional negligence or breach of fiduciary duty against an attorney, based on the claim that the attorney negotiated and recommended that plaintiff accept settlement of a matter that had already resulted in a judgment for plaintiff, must allege that the property received in settlement was worth less than the amount of the judgment; if the complaint in such an action is filed before the value of the property received in settlement has been determined, a demurrer to it should be sustained, since it cannot be alleged that the alleged negligence caused plaintiff to receive in the settlement a result than less favorable than the judgment; subsequent determination of the value of the property does not affect the validity of the order sustaining a demurrer, because the decision on a demurrer is made based on facts existing at the time the complaint was filed.

SHOPOFF & CAVALLO v HYON (Interpleader) 167 CA4 1489 [See: Selten v Hyon 152 CA4 463, P/AT 7/07; Charnay v Cobert 145 CA4 170, T/AT 2/07; Farmers v Zerin 53 CA4 445, T/AT 4/97; Farmers v Smith 71 CA4 660, T/AT 5/99; Kaiser v Aguiluz 47 CA4 302, T/AT 8/96 ; Auto Equity Sales v Superior Court 57 C2 450]