Adham v. Edwards

• Court: California Court of Appeals
• Writing for the Court: HOFFSTADT, P. J.
• Docket Number: B340483,B342461
• Decision Date: 06 November 2025
• Citation: Adham v. Edwards, B340483, B342461 (Cal. App. Nov 06, 2025)
• Parties: DINA ADHAM et al., Plaintiffs and Respondents, v. CHRISTI EDWARDS et al., Defendants and Appellants.

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DINA ADHAM et al., Plaintiffs and Respondents, v. CHRISTI EDWARDS et al., Defendants and Appellants.

B340483, B342461

California Court of Appeals, Second District, Fifth Division

November 6, 2025

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

APPEALS from orders of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County Nos. 22STPB08269 & 22VECV01429, Stephanie C Santoro and Valerie Salkin, Judges. Reversed.

Law Offices of Christopher G. Hook and Chrisopher G. Hook for Defendants and Appellants.

Moravec, Varga &Mooney, Henry J. Moravec III; Gavrilov &Brooks and Bradley E. Jewett for Plaintiffs and Respondents.

HOFFSTADT, P. J.

These consolidated appeals arise out of acrimonious litigation between an elderly man's adult children from his first marriage on the one hand, and the man's second wife and business associate on the other. The children moved to disqualify the lawyer who represented both the second wife and the business associate in a conservatorship lawsuit and a civil lawsuit, and the trial courts granted the motions. This was error, as the children lacked standing to seek disqualification. We accordingly reverse.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

I. Facts

A. The family

In 1980, Mohamed Adham (Mohamed)^[1] married Azza Adham (Azza). They had two daughters together, Dina Adham (Dina) and Ronda Adham Zulich (Ronda).

In October 2005, the couple created the Adham Family Trust (the trust), and one of the trust's assets is an investment account held at TD Ameritrade (the investment account).

Mohamed also owns an individual retirement account at TD Ameritrade (the IRA).

After Azza passed away in December 2005, Mohamed married his childhood sweetheart, Mervat El Leissy (wife).

B. Mohamed's accounting business

For decades, Mohamed worked out of his home as an accountant through his business, M. Adham CPA. Although the business was operated by Mohamed and without wife's involvement, the couple's 2019 and 2020 tax returns listed both Mohamed and wife as the business's "proprietors."

In 2006, Mohamed hired Christi Edwards (Edwards) to "assist" him with the business. Over the years, Edwards went from being an employee to more of a "business partner" and, eventually, Mohamed's and Edwards' relationship grew into more of a father-daughter type relationship.

When Mohamed lost a significant amount of his personal savings during the 2008 economic recession, Mohamed took Edwards' suggestion to invest in a certain stock and that stock turned out to be lucrative. To express his gratitude and because they both "enjoyed investing," Mohamed and Edwards agreed that Mohamed would invest a portion of Edwards' employment compensation and that Mohamed would manage Edwards' investment in the investment account. In September 2015, Mohamed executed a document stating that Edwards "can take . . . out" the $125,000 she gained from her investment from Mohamed's "stock accounts" "whenever she decides to."

By September 2020, Mohamed was planning to wind down his accounting practice. Given Edwards' "dedication" to the practice and their "close personal friendship," Mohamed decided to hand over his practice to Edwards. Mohamed and wife signed a document on September 12, 2020, stating that "should [Mohamed] become incapacitated or upon [his] passing," he "wish[es] to give [his] Client book, goodwill, and all assets relating to [his] business M. Adham CPA to [] Edwards."

C. Mohamed's deteriorating health

In 2016, Mohamed suffered two strokes that left him with limited mobility. He suffered another stroke in 2018 that resulted in "cognitive dysfunction and the inability to ambulate without close supervision." In 2021, he fell and needed a total hip replacement. In November 2021, Mohamed was admitted to the hospital "after choking and nearly dying." The hospital's discharge notes stated that Mohamed displayed "cognitive impairment and lack of decision making capability."

By February 2023, Mohamed was experiencing "moderate dementia," appeared "foggy," and had other conditions that prevented him "from engaging in basic self-care or management of his business and affairs."

D. The financial transactions

Three sets of financial transactions relating to Mohamed's assets are pertinent here.

1. Movement of funds from inheritance

When Mohamed's sister died in 2019, he inherited around $1,314,430. Mohamed's daughters, Dina and Ronda, contend that wife diverted the inherited funds to bank accounts in Australia, where wife's daughter from wife's earlier marriage resides. Wife contends that she and Mohamed had agreed to use the inheritance to retire to Australia, although wife has given inconsistent accountings of the inherited funds.

2. Movement of funds out of the IRA

In November 2021, the address listed on Mohamed's IRA at TD Ameritrade "mysteriously" changed from Mohamed's home address to Edwards' home address. Although wife initially asserted Edwards had changed the address, wife later claimed that she had done so. Edwards claimed that it was customary, when Mohamed traveled overseas to Australia with wife, for the couple's bills to be sent to Edwards' home address.

Two checks for distributions from the IRA totaling $12,595.67 were sent to Edwards' address on December 9, 2021 and February 9, 2022. Mohamed's business stamp was used to endorse both checks, the checks were then deposited into Mohamed's business checking account, and checks from that account bearing Mohamed's signature were subsequently issued to Edwards' then-boyfriend, now-husband Richard Day (Day).

3. Movement of funds out of the investment account

From December 2021 through June 2022, Edwards initiated five withdrawals by check totaling $126,000 from the investment account. Mohamed's business stamp was used to endorse the checks, the checks were deposited in his business checking account, and checks from that account were subsequently issued to Edwards' mother or to Day to pay off Edwards' credit cards and debts. Although wife originally claimed she had no knowledge of these withdrawals, she later claimed to have instructed Edwards to close out the investment account. Edwards asserted that she decided to withdraw the $125,000 investment that Mohamed had been holding for her so she could pay for her wedding to Day.

II. Procedural Background^[2]

Dina and Ronda initiated conservatorship and civil proceedings almost simultaneously and although the proceedings were litigated concurrently, we discuss them here separately. Pertinent to these appeals is attorney Christopher Hook's (Hook) representation of wife, Edwards, and Day in the conservatorship and civil proceedings.

A. Conservatorship litigation

1. Petition to appoint conservators

Upon discovering the financial transactions discussed above, Dina filed a petition on August 19, 2022, to (1) have herself and Ronda appointed as conservators of Mohamed's person and (2) have herself appointed as conservator of Mohamed's estate. The petition alleges that wife and Edwards had been working "in conjunction . . . to deplete [Mohamed's] bank accounts" and that wife "was aware of [Edwards'] fraud."

Wife and Edwards both objected to the petition, urging the probate court to appoint wife as conservator instead.^[3] At that time, Edwards was represented by attorney Hook. Wife was initially represented by different counsel, but then Hook became her co-counsel and, in August 2023, her sole counsel. Hook ceased representing wife on October 19, 2023; at that time, wife became self-represented. Hook has never represented Mohamed, Dina, or Ronda.

In June 2023, the probate court appointed Dina temporary conservator over Mohamed, and, in December 2023, issued an order permanently appointing Dina and Ronda conservators over Mohamed's person and Dina conservator over Mohamed's estate.

2. Petitions to recover property

a. Against Edwards and Day

In August 2023, Dina-acting as temporary conservator- filed a petition against Edwards and Day to recover the $12,595.67 transferred out of the IRA, and also sought a penalty for the allegedly wrongful taking. Edwards and Day, represented by attorney Hook, filed an objection to the petition on May 6, 2024. In July 2025 (and hence, while this appeal was pending),^[4]the probate court denied Dina's petition after finding that she had "fail[ed] to show that [Edwards' and Day's] taking of the monies [from the IRA] was wrongful" because "it is just as reasonable to infer" that Mohamed had "authorized [] Edwards to take the monies and to use them in a manner she saw fit."

b. Against wife

Dina-again, acting as temporary conservator-also filed a petition against wife in October 2023 to recover the funds Mohamed inherited, and sought a penalty for the allegedly wrongful taking.^[5] When wife became self-represented, the probate court granted her additional time to object to the petition; she did not file any objection. In July 2024, the probate court ruled that wife "took, concealed and disposed of" $739,990 of the inheritance funds while Mohamed was incapacitated, and further imposed a penalty of double damages in the amount of $1,479,980.

3. Motion to disqualify attorney Hook

a. Representation of wife

On September 1, 2023, just days after Hook become wife's sole counsel, Dina filed a motion to disqualify Hook from representing wife in the conservatorship litigation. In her motion, Dina alleged that Hook's representation of Edwards and wife posed an "irreconcilable conflict" because, as pertinent here,^[6]Hook had threatened to sue Mohamed's business for wage and hour violations, such that any verdict for Edwards would impose liability upon wife as a co-proprietor of that business.

After Hook substituted out as counsel for wife in October 2023 wife represented herself in opposing the motion. In...