Facts

The parties entered into a contingency fee contract whereby the defendant was to represent the plaintiffs concerning pending business valuation litigation for a family-owned business. In addition, the defendant was obligated to represent the plaintiffs in the event they were sued by the city of South Gate without additional fees or costs. The consideration for the additional contemplated representation (South Gate) was the contingency fee the defendant was to receive from the business valuation cases.

The family business valuation cases were resolved through mediation, and the defendant took his share of the settlement proceeds as his entitlement under the contingency fee arrangement. A dispute arose over the exact amount of attorney fees the defendant was entitled to because of the defendant's alleged promise to discount his fees in return for plaintiffs' agreement to settle the business valuation litigation case for a total of $2.85 million.

The plaintiffs sued defendant Czech alleging breach of contract and anticipatory repudiation, which justified their termination of the defendant's service and their entitlement to $90,964 for costs incurred to hire alternate attorneys to represent them in the South Gate lawsuit.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS:
The plaintiffs claimed that the defendant breached the client fee agreement based on his negligent handling of the business valuation lawsuit, refusal to return unearned money to the client's trust account, as well as his volatile and hostile reaction to plaintiffs' request that the disputed money be returned.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
The defense disputed plaintiff's negligence claim regarding the business valuation lawsuit and client's claim that the money was unearned.

Result

Arbitration award in favor of the plaintiffs in the amount of $90,964.