 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Breezevale Limited v. Dickinson9/21/2000
Appeal from the Superior Court of the District of Columbia (Hon. Steffen W. Graae, Trial Judge)
Argued September 30, 1999
Opinion for the court by Associate Judge Steadman.
Concurring opinion by Associate Judge Schwelb at p. ___.
Breezevale Limited ("Breezevale") is a former client of the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP ("GDC"). In a legal malpractice action against GDC, a jury found that GDC had mishandled a lawsuit filed by Breezevale against Bridgestone-Firestone, Inc. and Firestone Export Sales Corp. (collectively "Firestone"), resulting in $3,430,000 in damages. The damage award reflected the amount that Breezevale hypothetically would have won had its case against Firestone gone to a jury instead of settling due to GDC's alleged malpractice.
Citing evidentiary insufficiency, the trial court set aside the jury's verdict and entered judgment as a matter of law in favor of GDC. In the alternative, the court granted a new trial. Further, the trial court concluded that Breezevale had engaged in bad faith litigation and ordered it to pay GDC $5,356,633 in fees and costs, punitive damages, and unpaid legal fees. We reverse the entry of judgment as a matter of law insofar as it relates to two of the three claims underlying the litigation, but affirm the entry of judgment as to the third underlying claim. We remand the grant of a new trial for further consideration. We vacate without prejudice the order awarding sanctions for bad faith litigation and unpaid legal fees.
FACTUAL SUMMARY
Phase One: Breezevale v. Firestone
In October 1989, Breezevale hired GDC to investigate and pursue several potential claims against Firestone arising from business dealings involving Iraq and Nigeria. In 1990, on GDC's advice, Breezevale brought suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, seeking damages of approximately $20,000,000. Its first two sets of claims alleged that Firestone had committed breach of contract and fraud in its sale of tires to Iraq in 1988 and 1989 while it had an exclusive distributorship agreement with Breezevale ("1988 Iraq claim" and "1989 Iraq claim" respectively). Its third claim alleged that Firestone had breached a promise to develop a manufacturing plant in Nigeria with Breezevale ("Nigeria claim"). There is no dispute that Ohio law governed the action.
Discovery began in preparation for trial. At some point in mid-1991, Firestone offered to settle the case by paying Breezevale $3,500,000 and entering into a five-year distribution agreement for Nigeria, but Breezevale rejected the offer on GDC's advice. Discovery continued accordingly, including the scheduling of a particular Breezevale employee for deposition on October 14, 1991. On the night of October 13, however, a legal bomb dropped when that employee revealed to a GDC associate attorney that she planned to testify during her deposition that she had personally forged certain documents produced to Firestone, specifically offer letters dated late 1987 pertaining to the sale of tires to Iraq, at the direction of and with the participation of a certain Breezevale executive.
The following morning, just before the deposition, the GDC associate took the Breezevale employee to the office of a GDC partner to discuss the situation and ask how to proceed. The partner decided that the deposition should go forward without immediately notifying Breezevale, even though someone from Breezevale actually phoned during the meeting. However, after uneventful morning testimony, the partner and the associate did go to Breezevale's offices during the lunch break and advise a different Breezeval
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 District of Columbia Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|