RMO LLP Prevails in Trust Dispute Appeal

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Law firm RMO LLP has prevailed in a decision certified for publication by the 2^nd District State Court of Appeal in the case of a Santa Monica man whose mother was disappeared from her home under suspicious circumstances by her out-of-state daughters, who since have refused to allow him to have any relationship with his mom.

After mom disappeared, the women worked feverishly to liquidate mom’s California holdings and transfer the proceeds to their state of residence in an effort to avoid the jurisdiction of the California courts and, seemingly, California’s weighty elder abuse statutes. Due in large part to these efforts, the trial court ruled that California no longer had jurisdiction. The son, represented by a team of attorneys at RMO, argued that Los Angeles retained jurisdiction despite the changes. The appellate court agreed.

The appellate judges wrote that, regardless of the disparity in the parties’ factual assertions, the court ruled in favor of RMO’s client “after focusing on the defendants’ relationship to the forum state when assessing personal jurisdiction.” The defendants’ relationship included other litigation in Los Angeles that mom had initiated and remained embroiled in.

RMO Partner Matthew Baker, who argued the successful appeal, shared his happiness for the firm’s client, “We’re very pleased that the appellate court agreed with our arguments in the case. The more the elements of a case shift to another jurisdiction, the more easily a court can be persuaded to move the case along with it. This is where the law needs to be more closely and expertly dissected and understood,” said Baker. Baker was assisted in the appeal by Managing Partner Scott Rahn, Co-Managing Partner Sean Muntz, and attorneys David Greco and Tom Nanney. RMO also was awarded costs.

Importantly, the appellate court also noted that courts are becoming more accommodating in using technology to close distances between parties, a signal that challenges based on an inconvenient forum may become a thing of the past.

RMO LLP provides personal, cost-effective litigation services to individual and institutional clients involved in trust, estate and conservatorship disputes in probate court. RMO has offices in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Miami and Kansas City. For more information, please visit https://rmolawyers.com/.