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Post v. Bregman12/24/1996
Opinion by Davis, J.
Alan F. Post, Chartered, appeals from a grant of summary judgment by the Circuit Court for Montgomery County (Donohue, J.) in favor of Douglas M. Bregman, and Bregman, Berbert & Schwartz (appellees). The circuit court granted summary judgment on the grounds that appellant had breached a contract for the division of fees stemming from litigation in which both had participated. Appellant presents two questions for our review, which we restate as follows:
I. Could a trial court reasonably find the terms of the fee-sharing contract ambiguous?
II. Do the Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct control the interpretation of fee-sharing contracts between attorneys?
We answer both questions in the negative and affirm the circuit court.
FACTS
In 1988, Stanley W. Taylor was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia. Upon learning that his condition may have been related to exposure to certain substances while a heavy equipment mechanic with the District of Columbia, he filed a claim for worker's compensation benefits. His first counsel in the benefit litigation withdrew in 1989; in due course, Taylor contacted Bregman. Bregman invited Post to meet with him and Taylor to discuss representation, although his motivation for doing so is disputed. After this meeting, appellant alone represented Taylor in his worker's compensation claim, to a favorable result. The retainer agreement between appellant and Taylor, signed by Taylor on August 30, 1987, specifies that "Associate counsel may be employed at the discretion of and expense of Alan F. Post, Chartered without any increase in the attorneys' fees to be paid by the client." At the same time, Taylor pursued a separate, third-party action against the manufacturers and suppliers of the products that allegedly caused his injury . Both appellant and appellees were listed as counsel of record during this litigation. This third-party action spawned the fee-sharing agreement between appellant and appellees that is the subject of this appeal.
Alan Post asserted, in an affidavit submitted to the circuit court, that Bregman expressed a "strong interest" in participating actively in the third-party litigation. According to Post, he advised Bregman that he lacked the resources to pursue properly Taylor's claim. Appellees agreed to provide support and assistance, and advanced Post $2,000 in February 1990. According to Post's affidavit, appellees' failure to provide any further financial support compelled appellant to hire other counsel, namely, Ronald Simon of Connerton, Ray & Simon. From then until its later withdrawal, the Simon firm was lead counsel in the Taylor litigation.
Appellant maintains that Simon, appellant, and Taylor "continued to develop" Taylor's claim, while keeping appellees informed of developments. Appellees, appellant, and Connerton, Ray & Simon agreed to a fee-sharing arrangement, as evidenced by letters sent by appellant to both Bregman and Connerton, Ray & Simon. The letter to Bregman, sent on June 14, 1990, included the following:
You and I have discussed the active participation of Bregman, Berbert & Schwartz in this case. I have discussed this with Ron Simon and we do feel that there will certainly be opportunities for the use of manpower from your office to handle various pleadings, depositions, etc. Therefore, we have agreed that the firm of Bregman, Berbert & Schwartz will share in the recoveries to the extent of 25% of all fees recovered from the third party litigation.
You will be called upon to contribute 25% of all out-of-pocket expenses and an appropriate allocation of the la
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