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Spencer Reed Group5/31/2005
James M. Smart, Jr., Presiding Judge, and Lisa White Hardwick, Judge, concur.
Opinion Vote: AFFIRMED.
Smart, Jr., P.J. and Hardwick, J., concur.
Opinion:
Spencer Reed Group, Inc. (Spencer Reed), sued William H. Pickett, P.C. (" Law Firm") for the balance of an unfulfilled contract price for the referral of any attorney for Law Firm's employment. Law Firm raised the affirmative defense of material breach by Spencer Reed and now appeals a judgment in favor of Spencer Reed. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, we find that (1) Spencer Reed had an obligation to refer only licensed attorneys to Law Firm under the contract; (2) Spencer Reed materially breached the contract when it referred an individual not licensed to practice law in any state; and (3) there was sufficient evidence to support a finding that Law Firm waived the term requiring that Spencer Reed refer only licensed attorneys.
Affirmed.
Facts
Law Firm is a Kansas City law firm specializing in personal injury trial work. Spencer Reed is a personnel-staffing company, a division of which specializes in placing attorneys and legal personnel.
In September of 2002, an agent of Law Firm contacted Spencer Reed requesting assistance in finding an attorney to replace an associate attorney who had left the firm. Law Firm's office manager filled out a Job Order form to aid Spencer Reed in its search for a potential candidate. The form indicated that the open position was for an "associate attorney." The parties subsequently entered into a Guarantee and Fee Agreement that was signed by representatives of both parties.
In the Agreement, the parties agreed that Spencer Reed would refer a candidate to Law Firm for the open position. In return, Law Firm agreed to pay a fee to Spencer Reed that would be due only if and when Law Firm hired a candidate referred by Spencer Reed. The fee would be determined by a formula set forth in the agreement: 25 percent of the employee's first year salary. Although there is no dispute that Law Firm requested Spencer Reed to refer an associate attorney, neither the Job Order nor the Guarantee Agreement indicate that the candidate referred must be admitted to practice law in Missouri or any other state.
In October of 2002, Spencer Reed referred Joseph Wormington, an unlicensed law school graduate, to Law Firm to interview for the position of associate attorney. Spencer Reed had no idea whether he was licensed and had not even asked. At trial there was much dispute as to when Law Firm learned that Wormington had no law license. Nothing on his resume at the time indicated whether he was licensed to practice law. Wormington testified at trial that he disclosed during the interview that he had failed the Kansas bar exam and was planning to take both the Kansas and Missouri bar exams in the future.
Needless to say, Spencer Reed's screening process of Wormingtion was less than rigorous. Although Spencer Reed represented that it was in the business of placing attorneys for employment, it failed to elicit such basic information as to whether Wormington was licensed to practice law in any state. At trial Spencer Reed argued that any law school graduate met the definition of "associate attorney." Setting aside for a moment the dispute as to when the parties were informed that Wormington had no license, one thing is clear: after the interview, Wormington, having never received a license to practice law, was hired by Law Firm as an associate attorney at a salary of $40,000 per year.
Law Firm claimed at trial that it first learned that Wormington was not licensed
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