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Danny Son v. Margolius2/26/1997
Opinion by Harrell, J.
Danny Y. Son, also known as Yong C. Son, appeals from a judgment of the Circuit Court for Montgomery County that concurrently denied his motion for summary judgment and granted summary judgment to appellees. The beneficiaries of the alleged error were Margolius, Mallios, Davis, Rider & Tomar (referred to hereinafter as the "law firm" or the "firm"), Gary A. Stein, Esquire, a partner in the law firm and Mr. Son's attorney in a collateral action, and Jennifer Park, the Korean-American consultant who is at the center of this controversy. Mr. Son brought his action to void an alleged illegal contract, and asserting as well counts sounding in fraud, constructive fraud, negligence, and civil conspiracy. He sought to recover $242,500.00 in fees paid to Ms. Park and $1.139 million in legal fees retained by the law firm and Mr. Stein. We shall affirm the trial court's grant of summary judgment regarding the contract avoidance count and reverse as to the remaining counts.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
The parties assert that this case is as much about the clash of Korean and American cultures as it is the evils of barratry and fee-splitting, and the regulation of such conduct. This controversy began when Mr. Son was involved in a serious motor vehicle accident on 5 August 1992. The resultant injuries left him a quadriplegic. Mr. Son and his wife are Korean immigrants with concededly limited knowledge of American customs and the English language. Ms. Park testified that approximately two days after the accident, Ms. Son contacted her to ask for "help" in finding a lawyer. Mr. Son contends that Ms. Park was well known in the Korean community in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area as someone who located lawyers for Koreans in need of legal services. His position is supported by Ms. Park's own testimony that she had been helping members of that community find lawyers for over 15 years. Ms. Son essentially testified that the reason she contacted the consultant was that Ms. Park held herself out to the Korean community as a coordinator of legal services. Specifically, she testified that "the Korean people do not know where they find out (sic) attorney". Ms. Park testified that she often had multiple clients at any one time and performed lawyer referral services for other types of litigants, in addition to personal injury plaintiffs, in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.
Ms. Son and Ms. Park became acquainted before Mr. Son sustained his injuries. Approximately 6 years before the accident, Ms. Park employed Ms. Son as a bookkeeper. It is through this relationship, Ms. Park asserts, that Ms. Son knew of her reputation as a consultant. In any event, Ms. Park agreed to provide the names of attorneys to Ms. Son. She provided Ms. Son with a list of three attorneys. Attorney Stein's name was first on that list. Mr. Stein and the law firm, although maintaining their principal office in Washington, D.C., had offices in Rockville, Maryland. Mr. Stein was admitted to practice law in Maryland. It is unclear from the record whether Ms. Park intimated to Ms. Son that Mr. Stein was the best choice on the list or how involved Ms. Park was in his selection. Mr. Stein, however, ultimately was selected and arrangements were made for Ms. Park and Ms. Son to meet with Mr. Stein.
Mr. Son remained comatose for several weeks after his accident. His wife, therefore, began to forge contractual relations with Ms. Park and Mr. Stein purportedly on her husband's behalf. On 12 August 1992, Ms. Son signed a written contract agreeing to pay 10% of the proceeds of any settlement or judgment, separate and apart from the attorney's fees, to Ms. Park. On that same date, Ms. So
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