Civil Litigation,
Law Practice
May 1, 2013
When does a demand letter become extortion?
Sadly, a new court ruling affirms the problematic notion that if phrased incorrectly, lawyers can be sued for their words.
Timothy D. Reuben
Founder and CEO, Reuben, Raucher & Blum
Phone: (310) 777-1990
Email: treuben@rrbattorneys.com
Reuben is the founder and CEO at Reuben Raucher & Blum. Alongside his extensive career as a civil litigator specializing in complex matters at both the trial and appellate level, he serves pro bono as a temporary judge and settlement officer for the Los Angeles Superior Court, as well as a fee arbitrator for the LA County Bar.
One of the most common tasks lawyers perform is sending demand letters - but as the 2nd District Court of Appeal recently warned: be careful how you do it! In Mendoza v. Hamzeh, 2013 DJDAR 5202 (2013), Justice Victoria Chaney, writing for a unanimous court (Justices Robert Mallano and Jeffrey Johnson concurring), affirmed Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mary Ann Murphy in denying an anti-SLAPP motion by a lawyer who was sued for extortion because of his demand letter.
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