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CONFIDENTIAL

Oct. 3, 1998

Attorneys
Legal Malpractice
Negligence

Confidential

Settlement –  $807,500

Judge

Reginald A. Dunn

Court

L.A. Superior Central


Attorneys

Plaintiff

John P. Blumberg
(Blumberg Law Corp.)

Ave Buchwald


Defendant

Stephen R. Rykoff


Experts

Plaintiff

Larry Wurth
(technical)

Kenneth N. Klee
(technical)

Defendant

Christopher G. Money CPA
(technical)

Pamela K. Webster
(technical)

Facts

The plaintiff retained defendant attorneys to represent him in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Following defendants' instructions, plaintiff sold assets without court approval, resulting in a motion by the U.S. Trustee to convert the case to a Chapter 7. The plaintiff alleged that the defendants did not inform the court that plaintiff had been diligently following their instructions, and the court ordered that the case be converted to a Chapter 7. For the benefit of creditors, the Chapter 7 trustee sold plaintiff's primary asset, a promissory note worth over $1 million for $575,000. The plaintiff brought this malpractice action against the defendants within one year after the sale of the promissory note.

Settlement Discussions

The plaintiff made a C.C.P. º998 settlement demand for $1,500,000.

Damages

The plaintiff claimed the difference between the value of the note and its sale price as his damages.

Other Information

The settlement was reached approximately two years and nine months after the case was filed. A mediation held in July 1997 before Richard Chernick of AAA was unsuccessful.


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