(PLAINTIFF) v. ROSTEN
Legal Malpractice. My client was a divorce attorney who got sued because he insisted on getting his bill paid. The plaintiff was a medical school professor who professed to know all about malpractice. There wasn’t any, but she said she would sue if he refused to take 10% of his bill. When we got the case there was a demurrer on calendar to the car accident indemnity cross-complaint that had been filed by the insurer’s in-house counsel. Instead of opposing the demurrer, as urged by in-house counsel, we amended it to plead the contractual damages that the client wanted.
He unfortunately, had been given a second terminal cancer diagnosis and needed his bill paid to provide for his daughters’ education after his death. His engagement letter provided for reimbursement of any time and expenses incurred in pursuing payment, so he attended every deposition and court appearance personally. She had owed him $31,000. She ended up paying him $48,000.
