Facts

Plaintiff Hamid Mirshojae sued his former attorney for conflicts of interest relating to a transaction involving $20 million in real estate assets in dispute between plaintiff and his ex-wife, both of whom were represented by defendant, an attorney who practices in Calabasas.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff contended that defendant offered to represent him and his ex-wife in the dispute and that defendant told plaintiff that they needed to "settle this the Persian way." Plaintiff contended that defendant prepared deeds transferring title to his property to his ex-wife and told plaintiff to sign the deeds. Plaintiff contended that defendant said he would hold the deeds in a safe, that they would never see the light of day, and that they would only be used to settle the dispute, as leverage. Plaintiff contended he signed the deeds under these conditions. Plaintiff contended that he never signed a waiver for the conflict of interest even though defendant witnessed plaintiff and his ex-wife in a yelling match, and even though plaintiff's ex-wife obtained a restraining order against him and he was arrested for violation of that restraining order when they came in contact. Plaintiff contended that when he demanded defendant return the deeds to him, defendant held them for three months until he gave them to plaintiff's ex-wife, who transferred 50 percent of the title to her name.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendant denied the contentions. In addition, defendant sued plaintiff for hundreds of thousands of dollars in purportedly unpaid legal bills.

Result

The court found in favor of plaintiff on causes of actions for breach of fiduciary duty, intentional misrepresentation, and malpractice and awarded plaintiff $5.4 million in damages. Plaintiff also prevailed on the claims brought against him for unpaid legal bills.

Length

1.5 weeks