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Seibers v. Pepsi-Cola Bottling Co.12/21/2000
This case involves a dispute between a lawyer and his former client over a fee in a personal injury case. The client discharged the lawyer before the case was concluded and agreed to give the lawyer a lien on the potential recovery for the work the lawyer had already performed. When the lawyer attempted to collect his fee after the case was settled by another lawyer, the former client asserted that the lawyer should forfeit his fee because he engaged in unethical conduct. Following a bench trial, the trial court found that the lawyer had "technically" violated Tenn. S. Ct. R. 8, DR 5-105(A) but that the lawyer's conduct had not prejudiced the client and that the client had waived his conflict-of-interest claims. Accordingly, the trial court awarded the lawyer $69,525.83 in legal fees and expenses. We affirm the trial court's judgment.
Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Circuit Court for Putnam County Affirmed
William C. Koch, Jr., J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which Ben H. Cantrell, P.J., M.S., and William B. Cain, J., joined.
OPINION
Horace Manning was injured on June 28, 1994, when his automobile was struck by an automobile owned by Hiram Seibers and being driven by Mr. Seibers' daughter. Mr. Seibers had no insurance on his automobile when the collision occurred. Accordingly, Mr. Manning looked to his own insurance company because he had $25,000 in uninsured motorist coverage. After his insurance company offered him $11,000, Mr. Manning retained Jerry A. Jared, a lawyer practicing in Cookeville, to represent him. Mr. Jared pressed Mr. Manning's claim both with his insurance company and with Mr. Seibers. Eventually, in February 1995, Mr. Seibers, on the advice of counsel, filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.
On April 28, 1995, Messrs. Jared and Manning met to discuss Mr. Seibers' bankruptcy petition. Following the meeting, Mr. Jared filed a "proof of claim" form on Mr. Manning's behalf asserting a $75,000 unsecured non-priority claim against Mr. Seibers arising out of the collision. Believing that Mr. Manning's chances of recovering anything from Mr. Seibers were remote, Mr. Jared then focused his efforts on obtaining the best possible settlement from Mr. Manning's insurance company. The insurance company eventually agreed to pay Mr. Manning $25,000 - the full amount of his coverage. On June 8, 1995, Mr. Manning settled with his insurance company and executed a release giving the insurance company subrogation rights to the first $25,000 of any other recovery. Thereafter, Messrs. Manning and Jared let the statute of limitations run on Mr. Manning's claims against Mr. Seibers and his daughter.
On August 14, 1995, Mr. Seibers was injured when his automobile was struck by a truck owned by the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Cookeville, Inc. ("Pepsi-Cola"). Because he had been favorably impressed with Mr. Jared's representation of Mr. Manning, Mr. Seibers sought out Mr. Jared and asked Mr. Jared to represent him with regard to his claims against Pepsi-Cola and the other defendants. On August 17, 1995, Messrs. Seibers and Jared signed an "attorney employment agreement" in which Mr. Jared agreed to represent Mr. Seibers in return for a fee equal to one-third of any recovery Mr. Seibers might receive. Mr. Jared did not discuss Mr. Seibers' employment offer with Mr. Manning.
On June 10, 1996, Mr. Jared filed a complaint on behalf of Mr. Seibers in the Circuit Court for Putnam County against Pepsi-Cola and others seeking $2,000,000 in damages. Thereafter, Mr. Jared continued to prepare for trial by filing appropriate motion
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