John Wankum v. Carolyn S. Janzen
Published: Jul. 13, 2004 | Result Date: Mar. 4, 2004 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: L00921 Verdict – $171,000
Judge
Court
Imperial Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Facts
John Wankum, a 54-year-old civil engineer, was the former city engineer for the City of Calexico in Imperial County. He had a wrongful employment discharge case against the City of Calexico filed in 1993 by attorney William Macklin. After Macklin was unable to handle the case, attorney Carolyn Janzen, 55, took over the case. Janzen failed to take action on the case within the five-year statute of limitations period. Even though Janzen was aware the statute had expired and that Wankum's care was too old to prosecute, Janzen requested and received a retainer fee from Wankum. Thereafter, no action was taken and Janzen continued to misrepresent the status of the case to Wankum. In 2001, Wankum requested a return of his deposit for lack of progress in his case. Janzen never responded to Wankum's letter, and Wankum sued.
Damages
The plaintiff claimed punitive damages and compensatory damages, including the $7,500 retainer fee paid to the defendant after the statute of limitations period expired.
Result
$171,000
Deliberation
two hours
Poll
____ -____ (what issue?)
Length
two days
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