Congratulations to Jennifer Saunders for her big win today on the remaining cause of action against our client in the second chapter of the $27 million fraud and legal malpractice action on a demurrer which the court sustained without leave to amend. The action was filed as a putative class action on behalf of 54 investors in an EB-5 project which ultimately failed, alleging that the immigration attorneys who were retained to submit the EB-5 Visa Petitions, also had a duty to investigate and advise their clients as to the viability of their investments.
After the trial court granted our client’s Special Motion to Strike (anti-SLAPP) the fraud and intentional tort causes of action, which the Court of Appeal affirmed last week, the sole cause of action against our client was for legal malpractice. Plaintiffs filed a third amended complaint seeking to expand those claims, to which Jennifer filed a demurrer and motion to strike. The trial court today sustained the demurrer without leave to amend, ending the case completely against our client.