Orozco v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County

Appellant J. Nicholas McIntosh appeals from a summary judgment entered in favor of respondent Robert W. Mills (Mills). The trial court granted Mills summary judgment after concluding, as a matter of law, that an alleged agreement to share a legal fee (the fee-sharing agreement) entered into between Mills, a member of the State Bar of California, and McIntosh, a non-attorney, was unenforceable. In reviewing the matter de novo, we agree that the fee-sharing agreement was unenforceable under the doctrine of illegality of contract. Further, we conclude that no exception to the general rule of unenforceability applies in that the parties were in pari delicto as a matter of law because (1) McIntosh was represented by counsel, attorney David Anton, who also negotiated and entered into the fee-sharing agreement on McIntoshs behalf, and (2) McIntosh is equally as blameworthy as Mills.