Diane Fish and Charles Fish v. Lopez & Hodes
Published: Sep. 26, 1998 | Result Date: Mar. 16, 1998 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: 775898 Bench Verdict – $40,000
Judge
Court
Orange Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Jeffrey A. Milman
(Hodes Milman Ikuta LLP)
Ramon Rossi Lopez
(Lopez McHugh LLP)
Facts
Plaintiffs Diane Fish and her husband, Charles Fish, retained the law firm of Lopez & Hodes to represent them in litigation that was subsequently filed. Diane Fish's claims were brought under the consolidated breast implant litigation. Plaintiff Charles Fish's claims were for loss of consortium. After consolidating the Fish case with two others, the trial date was set for August 1996. In July 1996, Lopez & Hodes associated Robinson, Phillips & Calcagnie as counsel to assist them in the trial. The Fish case settled prior to trial. Subsequently, Lopez & Hodes prepared a distribution settlement which, in addition to allocating an amount for attorney fees, claimed reimbursement of costs of approximately $60,000. The plaintiffs claimed that costs were capped at $20,000. All settlement proceeds were distributed, and the disputed $40,000 was put in escrow in an interest-bearing trust account, pending the outcome of the litigation. The plaintiffs brought this action against the defendant based on a breach of contract theory of recovery.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiff made a C.C.P. º998 settlement demand for $33,000. Per plaintiff, the defendant made a C.C.P. º998 offer of compromise for $5,000. Per defendant, it made a settlement offer requiring payment of $35,000 by plaintiff.
Damages
The plaintiff claimed $40,000 in damages.
Other Information
The verdict was reached approximately one year and one month after the case was filed. A mediation held in November 1997 before Warren G. Michaelis did not resolve the matter. The defendants have filed a notice of appeal.
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