{Converted to html. The PDF is the
controlling document. JM}
Case 16-50644-btb Doc 43 Entered 09/17/19 16:39:24 Page 1 of 8
WRIGHT, FINLAY & ZAK, LLP
Yanxiong Li, Esq.
(702) 475-7964; Fax: (702) 946-1345
yli@wrightlegal.net
Attorney for Fred Sadri,
as Trustee for The Star Living Trust, dated April 14,
1997 and Ray Koroghli and Sathsowi
T. Koroghli, as Managing Trustees for Koroghli Management Trust
UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
DISTRICT OF NEVADA
Case No.: 16-50644-btb
Chapter
15
OST Requested:
Hearing Date: October 1, 2019
Hearing Time: 2:00 PM
MOTION TO WITHDRAW AS
COUNSEL
In re:
JAZI GHOLAMREZA ZANDIAN,
Debtor in Foreign Proceeding.
Pursuant to NRPC 1.16 and LR IA 11-6 [incorporated by reference pursuant to Local Rules of Bankruptcy Practice 2014(c)], Yanxiong Li, Esq. and the law firm of Wright Finlay & Zak, LLP (collectively, as “WFZ”) respectfully moves this Honorable Court for entry of an Order permitting WFZ to withdraw as counsel of record for Plaintiffs/Counter-Defendants, Fred Sadri, both in his individual capacity and as Trustee for The Star Living Trust, dated April 14, 1997; Ray Koroghli, individually; and Ray Koroghli and Sathsowi T. Koroghli, in their individual capacities as well as Managing Trustees for Koroghli Management Trust in both
Case No. 16-50644-btb and Adversary No. 17-05016-btb.
Page 2 of 4
Case 16-50644-btb Doc 43 Entered 09/17/19 16:39:24 Page 2 of 8
This motion is made and based upon the attached Memorandum of Points and Authorities, Declaration of Yanxiong Li, Esq. attached hereto as Exhibit 1 and judicial notice of any pleadings and papers on file in this case.
DATED this 17th day of September, 2019.
WRIGHT, FINLAY & ZAK, LLP
/s/ Yanxiong Li, Esq.
Yanxiong Li, Esq.
Attorney for
Plaintiffs/Counter-Defendants
MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND
AUTHORITIES
ARGUMENT
A lawyer may withdraw from
representing a client if: (1) Withdrawal can be accomplished without material
adverse effect on the interest of the client; … or (7) Other
good cause for withdrawal exists. NRPC 1.16(b). In
exercising one’s right to withdraw, a “lawyer must comply with applicable law
requiring notice to or permission of a tribunal when terminating
representation. NRPC 1.16(c).
LR IA 11-6 [incorporated by reference pursuant to Local Rules of Bankruptcy Practice 2014(c)] provides, in pertinent part, that: No attorney may withdraw after appearing in a case except by leave of the court after notice has been served on the affected client and opposing counsel.
Except for good cause shown, no withdrawal or substitution will be approved if it will result in delay of discovery, the trial, or any hearing in the case. Where delay would result, the papers seeking leave of the court for the withdrawal or substitution must request specific relief from the scheduled discovery, trial, or
hearing. If a trial setting has been made, an additional copy of the moving papers must be provided to the clerk for immediate delivery to the assigned district
judge, bankruptcy judge, or
magistrate judge.
Page 2 of 4
Case 16-50644-btb Doc 43 Entered 09/17/19 16:39:24 Page 3 of 8
LR 11-6(b) and (e). Good cause exists for withdrawal as shown by the Declaration of counsel (Yanxiong Li, Esq.) filed concurrently with this Motion. Specifically, on September 11, 2019 at 1:00 PM, Mr. Sadri, the undersigned counsel and Mr. Matthew S. Carter, Esq. attended a teleconference to discuss the firm’s proposal to withdraw as counsel as a result of a failure to reach an agreement regarding any further engagement, during which Mr. Sadri, on behalf of himself and Mr. Ray Koroghli, accepted WFZ’s proposal to withdraw from representation of Plaintiffs/Counterclaimants, and consented to WFZ’s proposal to set hearing of its Motion to Withdraw on the same day, but immediately after hearing on Margolin’s Amended Motion to Dismiss.
Mr. Sadri further indicated that he will begin the process of retaining another law firm to take over handling of this Adversary Proceeding and Chapter 15 Case, and will notify WFZ as soon as possible to begin the transition process.
There would be no adverse
effect on the interest of Plaintiffs/ Counter-Defendants if WFZ is allowed to
withdraw at this stage of the litigation/bankruptcy administration. Plaintiffs/
Counter-Defendants have filed their limited opposition to the pending Amended
Motion to Dismiss and WFZ intends to appear for Plaintiffs/Counter-Defendants
at the October 1, 2019 Hearing Date. [Bankr.
No. 40]. There are no other deadlines or hearings
(aside from the October 1, 2019 hearing on Amended Motion to Dismiss) in either
this Adversary Proceeding or the underlying Chapter 15 Bankruptcy Case.
Should this request for withdrawal be granted prior to the appearance of alternative counsel for Plaintiffs/ Counter-Defendants, the telephone number, email address and last known address at which the clients may be served with notice of further proceedings taken in the case are as follows:
a. Fred Sadri Individually And In His Capacity As Trustee Of The Star Living Trust
702.524.9875
fredsadri1@yahoo.com
Page
3 of 4
Case 16-50644-btb Doc 43 Entered 09/17/19 16:39:24 Page 4 of 8
b. Ray Koroghli Individually, And Ray Koroghli And Sathsowi T. Koroghli As Managing Trustees Of The Koroghli Management Trust
3055 Via
702.260.2013
702.493.5858
koroghli@msn.com
CONCLUSION
WHEREFORE, WFZ requests this Honorable Court grant this Motion for Withdrawal as Counsel for Plaintiffs/ Counter-Defendants.
DATED this 17th day of September, 2019.
WRIGHT, FINLAY & ZAK, LLP
/s/ Yanxiong Li, Esq.
Yanxiong Li, Esq.
Attorney for Plaintiffs/
Counter-Defendants
Page 4 of 4
Case 16-50644-btb Doc 43 Entered 09/17/19 16:39:24 Page 5 of 8
EXHIBIT
1
EXHIBIT 1
Case 16-50644-btb Doc 43 Entered 09/17/19 16:39:24 Page 6 of 8
WRIGHT, FINLAY & ZAK, LLP
Yanxiong Li, Esq.
(702) 475-7964; Fax: (702) 946-1345
yli@wrightlegal.net
Attorney for Fred Sadri,
as Trustee for The Star Living Trust, dated April 14,
1997 and Ray Koroghli and Sathsowi
T. Koroghli, as Managing Trustees for Koroghli Management Trust
UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
DISTRICT OF NEVADA
Case No.: 16-50644-btb
Chapter 15
In re:
JAZI GHOLAMREZA ZANDIAN,
Debtor in Foreign Proceeding.
DECLARATION OF YANXIONG LI, ESQ. IN SUPPORT OF MOTION TO WITHDRAW
I, YanXiong Li, Esq., pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of United States of America that the following are true and correct to the best of my knowledge:
1.
I am admitted to practice in this Court.
I am an attorney-at-law in the
2. I make this Declaration based on my personal knowledge of the facts and matters of this action.
3. I submit this Declaration in support of Wright Finlay & Zak, LLP’s Motion to Withdraw as Counsel of Record in both Case No. 16-50644-btb and Adversary No. 17-05016 for Plaintiffs/Counter-Defendants.
Page
1 of 3
Case 16-50644-btb Doc 43 Entered 09/17/19 16:39:24 Page 7 of 8
4. Throughout the course of this Adversary Proceeding and underlying Chapter 15 Case, in order to address the significant traveling Mr. Ray Koroghli does for his business and in observance of religious customs of Judaism, counsel has relied on Mr. Sadri to act as conduit and client representative to Mr. Koroghli.
5. On July 31, 2019, Defendant Jed Margolin filed an Amended Motion to Dismiss Chapter 15 Case in the underlying Chapter 15 Bankruptcy Case [Bankr. No. 38].
6. The same day, the undersigned emailed both Mr. Sadri and Mr. Koroghli a copy of the Amended Motion to Dismiss, reminded clients that their existing engagement does not encompass any litigation work related to the Chapter 15 Case, requested approval of a supplemental engagement with related estimate of fees/costs.
7. Between August 1, 2019 and September 4, 2019, Mr. Sadri, on behalf of himself and Mr. Koroghli, attempted to negotiate a reduced fee/cost amount for WFZ to handle the supplemental engagement of preparing a response to the Amended Motion to Dismiss.
8. These efforts culminated in two phone calls during the afternoon of September 4, 2019, which were not successful in negotiating a new agreement.
9. On September 11, 2019 at 1:00 PM, Mr. Sadri, the undersigned counsel and Mr. Matthew S. Carter, Esq. attended a teleconference to discuss the firm’s proposal to withdraw as counsel as a result of the September 4, 2019 calls and a failure to reach an agreement regarding any further engagement, during which Mr. Sadri, on behalf of himself and Mr. Koroghli, accepted WFZ’s proposal to withdraw from representation of Plaintiffs/Counterclaimants, and consented to WFZ’s proposal to set hearing of its Motion to Withdraw on the same day, but immediately after hearing on Margolin’s Amended Motion to Dismiss.
10. Mr. Sadri further indicated that he will begin the process of retaining another law firm to take over handling of this Adversary Proceeding and Chapter 15 Case, and will notify WFZ as soon as possible to begin the transition process.
Page
2 of 3
Case 16-50644-btb Doc 43 Entered 09/17/19 16:39:24 Page 8 of 8
11. Until such time as another
legal counsel appears on behalf of some or all of the
Plaintiffs/Counter-Defendants in this Adversary Proceeding and Chapter 15 Bankruptcy
Case, and following WFZ’s withdrawal from this
matter, Plaintiffs/Counter-Defendants may be served with notice of further
proceedings at the following addresses:
a. Fred Sadri Individually And In His Capacity As Trustee Of The Star Living Trust
702.524.9875
fredsadri1@yahoo.com
b. Ray Koroghli Individually, And Ray Koroghli And Sathsowi T. Koroghli As Managing Trustees Of The Koroghli Management Trust
3055 Via
702.260.2013
702.493.5858
koroghli@msn.com
12. At this time, except as for October 1, 2019 hearing on Mr. Margolin’s Amended Motion to Dismiss, for which WFZ will attend on behalf of Plaintiffs/Counter-Defendants, there are no other hearings scheduled in the Adversary Proceeding or Chapter 15 Bankruptcy Case, and there are no other deadlines applicable to Plaintiffs/Counter-Defendants.
13. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of United States of America that the foregoing are true and correct to the best of my knowledge.
DATED this 17th day of September, 2019.
WRIGHT, FINLAY & ZAK, LLP
/s/ Yanxiong Li, Esq.
Yanxiong Li, Esq.
Attorney for
Plaintiffs/Counter-Defendants
Page 3 of 3