STRATTON, J.
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County No. 19STCV02892, Barbara A. Meiers, Judge. Affirmed.
Joseph J. M. Lange Law Corporation and Joseph J. M. Lange for Plaintiff and Appellant.
Klinedinst, Heather L. Rosing, Robert M. Shaughnessy, and Irean (Lu) Zhang for Defendants and Respondents.
STRATTON, J.
Appellant Darryl W. Genis sued his criminal defense attorney for legal malpractice after Genis entered a plea of guilty to federal tax charges in United States District Court. Genis alleged his attorney, Martin Schainbaum, negligently advised him to sign “closing agreements” by which he agreed to pay civil tax fraud penalties as part of the disposition of his criminal case. Genis contended that but for Schainbaum's negligence, he would not have agreed to that obligation.
Genis filed his complaint for legal malpractice in Los Angeles Superior Court against Schainbaum and Martin A. Schainbaum, a Professional Law Corporation (hereinafter respondent or Schainbaum). Respondent demurred on the ground that actual innocence of the criminal charges, which Genis did not allege, is a necessary element of a cause of action for legal malpractice arising out of a criminal proceeding. The trial court agreed, found that the obligation was incurred as part of a plea agreement to resolve criminal charges, and sustained the demurrer without leave to amend. Genis filed a timely appeal. We affirm.
Question Presented
As framed by appellant, “In the legal malpractice context, does the ‘actual innocence' standard adopted in Wiley v. County of San Diego (1998) 19 Cal.4th 534 [(Wiley)], apply to legal malpractice claims stemming from legal representation involving simultaneous civil and criminal cases, when a plaintiff is only pursuing legal malpractice claims as to the underlying civil case?”
The Criminal Prosecution
We concur: GRIMES, Acting P. J., OHTA, J. [*] [*]Judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court, assigned by the Chief Justice pursuant to article VI, section 6 of the California Constitution.