Conservatee’s Daughter’s Appeals Sadly End Contentious Conservatorship Fee Proceedings.
In a bitterly contested conservatorship proceeding, Conservatorship of Gdowski, Case Nos. G043583 & G044070 (4th Dist., Div. 3 July 7, 2011) (both unpublished), two appeals resolved awards of attorney’s fees to the lawyers for both conservatee and conservator resulting from conservatee’s daughter’s objections to the way the conservatorship was being handled with respect to her mother.
Daughter’s principal contention was both attorneys had conflicts of interest of a nature requiring a forfeiture of fees. Although a serious violation of an attorney’s responsibilities can give rise to a forfeiture of fees, Pringle v. La Chapelle, 73 Cal.App.4th 1000, 1006 (1999), the appellate court found no such egregious conflict of interest for the involved lawyers.
Orders awarding fees to attorneys for either conservatee or conservator are expressly appealable. (Prob. Code, § 1300(e).) Also, daughter was found to have standing so the appeal could be considered on the merits, although the awards were found to be proper.
Justice O’Leary wrote both opinions, poignantly summarizing the appeals this way: “ . . . both appeals are utterly without merit [and] they appear to be misguided and bitterly motivated attempts to have the last say in the case by punishing those who dared to disagree with [daughter appellant].”