Fees On Legal Malpractice For Former Attorneys Are $659,047 And Cross-Claims Recovery Is $227,420.
In a case where “[t]he facts underlying this appeal are much more interesting than most facts we see on appeal,” the appellate court in Chapman v. Bollard, Case No. G049579 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Aug. 11, 2015) (unpublished) confronted an appeal after Duane “Dog” Chapman—of the reality T.V. show Dog the Bounty Hunter—and other members of his entourage lost an arbitration to their former attorneys who helped them avoid Mexican kidnapping and other criminal exposure. They sued for legal malpractice and lost, with the arbitrator determining that the attorneys were entitled to $659,042 in attorney’s fees, costs, and post-award interest. The attorneys filed a cross-claim for unpaid fees, winning $96,813 which was bumped up to a total of $227,420 when fees, costs, and interest were also included.
“Dog” appealed, but lost again. Writing for a 3-0 panel, Presiding Justice O’Leary rejected technical arguments that the parties’ retainer agreements or invoices violated California law. The main reason was that “Dog” & Company decided to enforce the agreements through arbitration; that being said, the agreements were voidable but not void under illegality principles. Because only limited review is available for arbitration awards under Moncharsh v. Heily & Blasé, 3 Cal.4th 1, 10 (1992), nothing was wrong with the arbitrator’s award of substantial fees/costs and cross-claim recovery. Also, former attorneys were awarded costs on appeal and can also seek for appellate fees on appeal if there was a retainer agreement with a fees clause (presumably was).
Ah-oo-ooo!
Clint Eastwood as a bounty hunter in “A Fistful of Dollars.” 1967. Library of Congress.
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