Editor's note: This article has been updated and revised to reflect the dismissal of the lawsuit, entered Jan. 17.
A San Francisco law office has secured a quick dismissal of a lawsuit brought by the owners of a parking garage who had accused the lawyers of mistakes costing them $90,000.
On Jan. 17, a San Francisco County Superior Court judge dismissed the lawsuit under an agreement between defendants Kevin F. Woodall and Woodall Law Offices and plaintiffs Gritty Gebremeskel and his company, Best Parking LLC.
Under the agreement, the plaintiffs agreed to abandon their lawsuit without winning any payment from the defendants, in return for an agreement by the defendants to not file an action against the plaintiffs for sanctions or malicious prosecution/wrongful use of civil proceedings.
Gebremeskel and Best Parking had sued Woodall and his firm, hoping to secure money to cover their costs from a default judgment worth $85,599, plus interest, entered against them in a separate lawsuit filed against them by a plaintiff identified as Jose Rocha Buenfil, according to the lawsuit, filed in San Francisco County Superior Court.
The complaint did not specify what that prior lawsuit involved.
The lawsuit against Woodall blamed the law office for allegedly committing errors which led to the default judgment.
According to the Gebremeskel and Best Parking complaint, the Woodall firm allegedly "never appeared in the case or prepared an answer which Plaintiffs could file in the case to avoid default."
When the Woodall firm withdrew from representation in 2021,"they did not advise in writing the importance of a responsive pleading, how to appear in court, and the consequences of not responding or appearing," the current suit says.
The Woodall firm also allegedly released confidential financial information and tax returns from Best Parking to opposing counsel in the Buenfil case "without redacting confidential information and without any sort of Protective Order in place or enforceable means of ensuring the confidentiality of the information and documents," the new lawsuit says.
The release of that information violated attorney-client privilege protections under California law, according to the lawsuit.
Best Parking was represented by attorney Ingrid M. Evans, of Evans Law Firm Inc., of San Francisco.
Gebremeskel v. Woodall, San Francisco Superior Court, CGC-23-610281