Blondell v. Littlepage

• Decision Date: 30 March 2009
• Docket Number: No. 16, Sept. Term, 2008.,16, Sept. Term, 2008.
• Citation: 968 A.2d 678,185 Md. App. 123
• Parties: William BLONDELL v. Diane LITTLEPAGE.
• Court: Court of Special Appeals of Maryland

968 A.2d 678

185 Md. App. 123

William BLONDELL v. Diane LITTLEPAGE.

No. 16, Sept. Term, 2008.

Court of Special Appeals of Maryland.

March 30, 2009.

Nathaniel Fick & Jonathan E.C. May (Fick & May, C. William Michaels, on the brief), Baltimore, for Appellant.

R. Scott Krause (Charles Martinez, Eccleston & Wolf, PC, on the brief), Hanover, for Appellee.

Panel: JAMES R. EYLER, MATRICCIANI and RAYMOND G. THIEME (Ret., specially assigned), JJ.

JAMES R. EYLER, Judge.

In this appeal, we consider whether the Circuit Court for Baltimore County properly entered summary judgment in favor of an attorney with respect to tort and contract claims brought by the attorney's co-counsel, based on actions taken in the course of their joint representation of a client. Appellant, William J. Blondell, Jr., Esq. ("Blondell"), was engaged by Lois A. and Hugh Jack Corbin (the "Corbins") to represent them with respect to their medical malpractice claim. Blondell filed a complaint and, at a later time, referred the matter to appellee, Diane M. Littlepage, Esq. ("Littlepage"). Both continued to represent the Corbins pursuant to a fee sharing agreement. The agreement, which gave Littlepage primary responsibility in handling the matter, provided that Blondell would remain as co-counsel and provide services as requested by Littlepage.¹ Eventually, the Corbins settled the case, but for a sum less-than-anticipated by Blondell, based at least partially on their acceptance of Littlepage's advice that Blondell's delay in filing the complaint raised an arguably meritorious statute of limitations defense.

Following the settlement, Blondell brought claims against Littlepage for fraud/deceit, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, and intentional interference with contractual relations. Blondell based his claims on allegations that Littlepage improperly advised the Corbins that there was an arguably meritorious limitations defense when the defense lacked merit, that Littlepage breached a duty to consult and communicate with him during settlement negotiations, and improperly advised the Corbins that they explore a legal malpractice action against him for the diminution in value of their claim based on his delay in filing their complaint. The circuit court granted Littlepage summary judgment on all counts, concluding that Littlepage owed no tort duty to Blondell, that Littlepage fulfilled her contractual duty, and that Littlepage, as a matter of law, could not have interfered with the contract between Blondell and the Corbins because she was a party to the agreement. The sole issue presented by Blondell on appeal is as follows:

Was the circuit court legally correct in granting appellee's summary judgment motion on all claims by appellant against appellee, as co-counsel in a medical negligence matter, after appellee, without informing or consulting appellant, advised the clients to settle the matter by falsely stating to them that appellant had not timely filed their claim and had committed malpractice, necessitating an immediate settlement?

For the reasons that follow, we agree with the conclusions of the circuit court and, therefore, affirm the judgment.

Facts and Proceedings

In May 1999, Doctor Amile A. Korangy performed a mammogram on Lois Corbin and reported no abnormalities in the results. Subsequently, in November 1999, Ms. Corbin detected a lump in her left breast. Ms. Corbin scheduled the first available appointment with her gynecologist, Doctor Dee Hubbard, who examined Ms. Corbin on January 18, 2000. Dr. Hubbard scheduled Ms. Corbin for another mammogram on January 19, 2000, and a sonogram on January 21, 2000, both of which returned results suspicious for malignancy. A subsequent biopsy confirmed that Ms. Corbin had breast cancer.

In approximately May 2000, the Corbins retained Blondell to pursue a possible claim for medical malpractice against Dr. Korangy, believing that he misread Ms. Corbin's May 1999 mammogram. On January 21, 2003, Blondell filed a medical malpractice claim against Dr. Korangy in the Health Claims Arbitration Office. The parties elected to waive arbitration, and on April 8, 2003, the Health Claims Arbitration Office transferred the case to the Circuit Court for Baltimore County.

In approximately January 2004, while the case was in early discovery, Blondell referred the Corbins' claim to Littlepage.² On January 15, 2004, the Corbins executed a document titled "Acknowledgment and Consent to Fee-Sharing Agreement" that stated:

Pursuant to the applicable Rules of Professional Conduct, I/we, the undersigned, do hereby acknowledge that I/we have been advised by the law firm of Diane M. Littlepage, Esquire that the legal fee in my/our case will be shared between Diane M. Littlepage, Esquire and William Blondell, Esquire on the basis of the anticipated division of services to be rendered in the case. I/we understand that Diane M. Littlepage, Esquire, will have primary responsibility for the prosecuting my/our claim [sic], including handling court appearances and the trial of the case, should such become necessary, and that, William Blondell, Esquire will act as co-counsel in the case and will perform other services as requested by Diane M. Littlepage, Esquire. I/we hereby consent to the sharing of the fee and understand that the fee-sharing agreement will have NO effect on the overall fee to be charged in my/our case.

Blondell and Littlepage acknowledge that, while the writing did not address the specific division of the fee, they orally agreed to divide any contingency fee fifty-fifty. Littlepage entered an appearance on behalf of the Corbins. Though Blondell remained counsel of record, he had no further contact with the Corbins, and aside from a few sporadic discussions with Littlepage, was not asked to and did not actively participate in the case from that point forward.

In March 2005, Dr. Korangy filed a motion for summary judgment, asserting that the claim was barred by the three-year statute of limitations, see Maryland Code (2006 Repl.Vol., 2008 Supp.), § 5-109(a) of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article, because Ms. Corbin was on inquiry notice no later than January 18, 2000, and the claim was not filed until January 21, 2003. Littlepage filed an opposition after discussing the matter with Blondell. By order dated May 31, 2005, the circuit court denied Dr. Korangy's motion.

A pre-trial settlement conference was held in August, 2005. In a conversation before the conference, Blondell suggested to Littlepage that he accompany her to the conference because of his familiarity with the settlement judges. Littlepage did not object to Blondell's suggestion, but Blondell ultimately did not attend the conference.³

According to Littlepage, the settlement judge advised her during the conference that "Dr. Korangy's limitations argument was compelling and that Dr. Korangy would likely prevail in making such an argument to the trial judge or on appeal." Dr. Korangy also indicated that he would appeal an adverse verdict on the limitations issue. Littlepage discussed the limitations problem in a conversation with Blondell following the settlement conference, but the pair had no further discussions regarding the settlement negotiations.⁴

As the September 12, 2005 trial date approached, Littlepage discussed with the Corbins various factors influencing a potential settlement, including Ms. Corbin's failing health, a scheduling conflict between the trial and Ms. Corbin's daughter's wedding, the cost the Corbins would incur in the event of a defense verdict, and the limitations issue. In addition, Littlepage stated her opinion that Blondell unnecessarily delayed filing their claim, thus creating an arguable limitations defense that diminished the value of their claim. Littlepage recommended that the Corbins consult with counsel regarding a possible malpractice claim against Blondell, and provided them with the names of attorneys that regularly handled such claims. The Corbins eventually decided to settle the claim against Dr. Korangy for $225,000, which was significantly less than the $1 million initially demanded by Littlepage, and the $350,000 recommended by the settlement judge.⁵ Littlepage remitted one-half of the contingency fee to Blondell.

On December 18, 2006, Blondell filed a complaint against Littlepage, which contained counts alleging fraud/deceit, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and negligence.⁶ Blondell's claims rested on the assertion that Littlepage was obligated to consult and communicate with him on the Corbin matter, and that her failure to do so, and her false representations to the Corbins concerning a possible limitations defense and legal malpractice action, caused him to suffer economic and non-economic damages.

On October 15, 2007, Littlepage moved for summary judgment asserting, among other things, that no actionable duty was owed to Blondell. On October 29, 2007, before the court ruled on the summary judgment motion, Blondell filed an amended complaint adding a count for intentional interference with contractual relations.⁷ On November 13, 2007, Littlepage filed a renewed and supplemental motion for summary judgment. On December 19, 2007, the motion was argued, and on December 31, 2007, the circuit court issued an order granting summary judgment in favor of Littlepage on all counts.

As to the fraud/deceit, breach of fiduciary duty, and negligence counts, the circuit court noted that no reported Maryland decision had addressed whether a legally cognizable duty existed between co-counsel on these facts, but the court cited a number of decisions from other jurisdictions to support its conclusion that no such duty existed. Regarding the breach of contract claim, the court found that nothing in the fee sharing agreement required Littlepage to consult with Blondell, and that neither her failure to do so nor any other act constituted a breach of that...