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Barrett v. Freise11/24/2003
s of beer before leaving the tavern and crashing into Jeff's vehicle.
On October 31, 1996, Kahr responded to Freise's letters and stated that she would like to think about the matters raised in his letters some more, but that her initial impression was that it would probably be worthwhile to go after the tavern and that it might not be wise to settle with Maher until the dram shop claim against the tavern was resolved.
Through the fall of 1996, Freise continued to work on the tavern case. On December 3, 1996, Kahr and Love met with Freise and discussed the case, his involvement, his fee contract, and potential conflicts arising from the marital dissolution action. Freise provided a copy of the fee agreement to Kahr, and provided a nearly final draft of the settlement demand that he was working on to present to the tavern's insurer to both Kahr and Love. Kahr and Love agreed that Freise should continue to work on the personal injury claim, that he should make a settlement demand of the tavern, and that the family should not enter into a settlement agreement with American States because it would destroy joint and several liability.
Kahr and Love subsequently approved the demand letter so, on December 9, 1996, Freise submitted the settlement demand to the tavern's insurer.
The next day, Freise received a letter from Kahr that commented upon potential conflicts of interest and took a critical tone regarding the fee contract, the durable power of attorney in favor of JoLynn, the disbursal of UIM proceeds to JoLynn, and other matters, but authorized Freise to continue working on the personal injury case. Kahr did wish to change Freise's fee to an hourly basis however, and she stated that she thought that Tracy Waggoner, the guardian ad litem proposed by the dissolution attorneys to represent Jeff's interests in the dissolution action, would agree. She concluded the letter by stating that nothing in her letter was meant to imply that Freise's representation of Jeff had been below the standard of care.
On December 10, 1996, and again on January 13, 1997, Freise wrote Waggoner, who by then had been appointed as Jeff's guardian ad litem in the marital dissolution action, and explained the personal injury case in detail, including the contingency fee agreement. Waggoner responded that Freise should continue his role in the personal injury case.
In a January 17, 1997 letter, Kahr asked Freise not to call Jeff anymore and to send all mail communications to Jeff through her.
On February 3, 1997, Waggoner wrote Kahr and Love and sought their input, noting that the attorney fee issue would need to be resolved, given its potential impact on the available monies to be divided.
On February 11, 1997, and March 11, 1997, Freise wrote the Barretts, their attorneys, and Waggoner about his communications with the tavern's insurance adjuster, and the status of his investigation. He indicated his hope that, even if there were to be a denial of liability, there could be mediation before filing suit.
On March 13, 1997, Freise received a letter, signed by Jeff and his brother John, discharging him as Jeff's attorney in the personal injury matter and requesting a fee and cost statement. On March 17, 1997, Kahr wrote Waggoner, stating that Freise had been discharged and that she was serving as Jeff's general counsel for the interim while he settled on new counsel who would handle the personal injury matter on a fee basis more advantageous to Jeff.
The efforts to discharge Freise were done without the agreement of the guardian ad litem, JoLynn, or her attorney Rita Love. On March 19, 1997, JoLynn filed a motion and
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