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Kilpatrick v. Wiley12/14/2001
Third District, Salt Lake County The Honorable Glenn K. Iwasaki
Plaintiffs brought this legal malpractice action against the law firm Wiley, Rein & Fielding ("Wiley Rein") and against Richard Wiley, senior partner at Wiley Rein. Plaintiffs alleged that defendants represented them from 1981 until 1991 in connection with their efforts to purchase and operate the Channel 13 television station in Salt Lake City and that, during the latter portion of this representation, defendants repeatedly breached fiduciary duties they owed to plaintiffs. Following a lengthy trial, the jury reached a verdict for plaintiffs. Defendants appeal, contending the trial court committed numerous errors requiring reversal. They argue that the trial court incorrectly ruled that, as a matter of law, Wiley Rein had an attorney-client relationship with plaintiffs; that the trial court erred in instructing the jury not only as to their own affirmative defenses, but also as to plaintiffs' theory of the case; that the trial court committed multiple errors in connection with both the apportionment and amount of damages; and that Richard Wiley had no attorney-client relationship with any plaintiff. Plaintiffs bring a conditional cross-appeal alleging that the trial court erred in not ruling that Richard Wiley had an attorney-client relationship with each plaintiff who was also a Wiley Rein client; that the trial court erred in limiting the purposes for which an indemnification agreement was admitted; and that the trial court erroneously excluded the report and testimony of an expert witness as irrelevant. We reverse the jury's verdict and remand for further proceedings.
BACKGROUND
"On appeal from a jury verdict, we view the evidence and all reasonable inferences drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to that verdict." Pratt v. Prodata, Inc., 885 P.2d 786, 787 (Utah 1994). "We present conflicting evidence only when necessary to understand issues raised on appeal." State v. Kruger, 2000 UT 60, 2, 6 P.3d 1116.
In 1980, the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") announced it would issue a license for a new VHF television channel in the Salt Lake City area, Channel 13. Barry Wood, a communications attorney with the law firm Kirkland & Ellis, approached David Lee and encouraged him to apply for the license. David Lee approved of the proposed venture, and, in furtherance of that venture, Wood formed Mountain West Television Company (MWT Company), a general partnership consisting of partners David Lee, Joseph Lee (David Lee's father), Jo -Ann Kilpatrick, Sidney Foulger, George Gonzales, Brent Pratt (Sidney Foulger's son-in-law), and Doug Cardon, to apply for the Channel 13 license. Acting on Wood's advice, David Lee, Pratt, and Cardon subsequently withdrew from the partnership.
Wood was retained to assist in the complex process of applying for the license. As part of his representation during the application process, Wood required detailed, confidential information from the remaining MWT Company partners--Joseph Lee, Sidney Foulger, Kilpatrick, and Gonzales (collectively, the "MWT Company partners")--concerning their personal backgrounds, experience, financial limitations, business activities and strategies, strengths and weaknesses, and other matters.
In 1983, several attorneys, including Wood, left Kirkland & Ellis and formed what is now the law firm Wiley, Rein & Fielding. At this time, the application process was ongoing. After joining Wiley Rein, Wood continued to represent MWT Company and the MWT Company partners in their efforts to obtain the Channel 13 license. Wood also routed copies of his correspondence with MWT Company and the MWT Com
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