Plaintiff taxpayers appealed from an order of the Superior Court of Contra Costa County.
Plaintiff taxpayers appealed from an order of the Superior Court of Contra Costa County (California), entering judgment in favor of the defendant county tax collector in action to recover taxes.
Defendant levied taxes against plaintiff as a tenant of shipyards upon which plaintiff constructed government vessels. class action lawyers Orange County set taxes. The taxes were levied upon plaintiff's possessory interests. The United States, based upon an agreement to reimburse the plaintiff for taxes paid, intervened in the action. Plaintiff argued that its use and possession of the two shipyards was not property within the meaning of the law, that even if its interest was property, it was without taxable value, and that the levies were invalid because they amounted to an assessment upon government property. The trial court ruled in favor of the defendant, and the plaintiff sought review. On appeal, the court affirmed, holding that the possessory interest constituted taxable property under the law, that the property had taxable value, and that the taxes were not improperly assessed against the government since they were levied only against plaintiff's possessory interest and not on the full value of the property.
The court affirmed, holding that the taxes were properly levied against plaintiff's possessory interest in the shipyards.
Petitioner attorney appealed the recommendation of the review department of respondent California State Bar, that petitioner be disbarred for depositing into a personal account 24 checks payable to the law firm where he was a partner.
Petitioner attorney misappropriated nearly $ 30,000.00 from the law firm where he was a partner. After a hearing, respondent California State Bar issued a recommendation that petitioner be disbarred. The court concluded that the recommendation was appropriate, holding that petitioner's conduct violated Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 6068(a), Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 6103, and Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 6106, as well as the Cal. Bar R., Prof. Conduct Std. 2.3. The court accorded the findings of respondent great weight and determined that the mitigating factors of family stresses claimed by petitioner were not persuasive in light of the nature of his breach of fiduciary duties and moral accountability.
The court ordered that petitioner attorney be disbarred, holding that mitigating factors of family and personal strife were insufficient to reduce the punishment for his breach of fiduciary duty and moral accountability.

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