Freeman v. Clarke Cnty.
| Decision Date | 16 December 2012 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 4:08-CV-139-HTW-LRA |
| Parties | STEVE FREEMAN, as administrator of the Estates of DORIS VANN, deceased; and DEBORAH THORNTON, on behalf of the surviving minor children of DORIS VANN PLAINTIFFS v. CLARKE COUNTY and MARY MCCLENDON, in her individual capacity DEFENDANTS |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Mississippi |
Plaintiffs Steve Freeman, as administrator of the Estate of Doris Vann, deceased, and Deborah Thornton, on behalf of the surviving minor children of Doris Vann, filed this lawsuit on November 26, 2008, under Title 42 U.S.C. § 19831 against defendants Clarke County, Mississippi and Mary McClendon in her individual capacity. Clarke County is a political subdivision of the State of Mississippi which has 82 counties, of which Clarke is one.2 Mary McClendon during the time of the incidence in question was jail administrator of Clarke County jail. Plaintiffs contend that the defendants' conduct egregiously violated the decedent Doris Vann's rights under theFourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution,3 the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),4 and § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act,5 causing Doris Vann to die from acute asthma and pulmonary emboli during her incarceration in the Clarke County jail. The authorities at Clarke County jail, especially employee Mary McClendon, say plaintiffs, knowingly denied Doris Vann medical treatment despite Vann's repeated and ongoing pleas for help. The plaintiffs and defendants have settled this lawsuit. The only remaining dispute concerns the attorneys' fees.
Neither plaintiffs nor defendants are involved in this fee dispute before the court; only plaintiffs' attorneys are still litigating, and with each other. First, we have James V. Doyle, Jr. ("Doyle"), the attorney who worked on this case while employed by Wiggins, Childs, Quinn & Pantazis, LLC ("WCQP"). Then we have WCQP which filed an attorneys' charging lien after the plaintiffs discharged the firm and hired Doyle when he left the employment of WCQP and founded the Doyle Law Firm, P.C.
Before the court are a number of motions regarding the appropriate division of the attorneys' fees. The motions are as follows: (1) a motion to enforce attorneys' fee lien [docket no. 31] filed by WCQP; (2) a motion to dismiss attorneys' charging lien [docket no. 39] filed by Doyle; (3) a motion supplementing motion to enforce attorneys' fee lien [docket no. 41] filed by WCQP; (4) a motion to compel [docket nos. 47] filed by WCQP; (5) another motion to compel [docket no. 48] filed by WCQP; (6) a motion for discovery [docket no. 54] filed by WCQP; (7) a motion for leave to file response [docket no. 56] filed by Doyle; (8) a motion for extension of time [docket no. 64] filed by WCQP; (9) a motion to strike response [docket no. 65] filed by Doyle; and (10) a motion to stay proceedings [docket no. 69] filed by Doyle.
Having considered the thrust of the pleadings, the several oral arguments of the attorneys, and the applicable law, this court grants WCQP's motion to enforce its attorneys' fee lien [docket no. 31] and Doyle's motion for leave to file response [docket no. 56]. This court denies Doyle's motion to dismiss attorneys' charging lien [docket no. 39]. The court denies as moot WCQP's two motions to compel and motion for discovery [docket nos. 47, 48, and 54]. This court grants WCQP's motion for extension of time [docket no. 64] and denies Doyle's motion to strike response [docket no. 65]. This court grants WCQP's motion to supplement [docket no. 41], and awards WCQP $241,728.79 in attorneys' fees and $6,913.91 in expenses. The balance of the attorneys' fees held in this court's register will be released to the Doyle Law Firm, P.C., namely $98,734.30 in attorney's fees and $2623 in expenses.
On December 12, 2012, this court held a telephonic conference with the parties, announced the above rulings, and stated that the court would follow-up with a writtenopinion. In anticipation of this forthcoming written ruling, Doyle has filed a motion to stay the release of the funds held in the court's registry for 30 days to allow the Doyle Law Firm to evaluate the rationale of this court's order [docket no. 69] and to determine if that firm will pursue relief from the order. The court, over WCQP's objection, grants this motion and directs the Clerk of Court for the Southern District of Mississippi to delay disbursement of the funds in this case until further order of this court.
On September 14, 2006, the plaintiffs, herein, engaged Stephen K. Winters ("Winters"), an attorney in Alabama, to prosecute this case against Clarke County, Mississippi and Mary McClendon after the death of Doris Vann. Winters and the plaintiffs entered into a contingency-fee agreement which would pay the attorney 50% of the gross amount of any recovery obtained plus expenses. The agreement provided that in the absence of any recovery, the attorney would receive no fees or expenses. Representation agreement, docket no. 59-1.
After entering the representation agreement, Winters referred the matter at some time in 20076 to the law firm of WCQP, also based in Alabama. Subsequently, on November 26, 2008, WCQP filed the complaint in federal court in the Southern District of Mississippi, Jackson Division.
The attorneys of record for the plaintiffs at that time were Doyle and Samuel Fisher, a WCQP partner admitted to practice in Alabama. Samuel Fisher was admittedpro hac vice in this case. Doyle, an associate at WCQP, who was admitted to practice in Mississippi, worked on the case from the time it was referred to WCQP until he left the firm to start his own practice on April 23, 2010.
The last pleading filed by the plaintiffs on the merits of the case was a reply brief to a motion for summary judgment, filed on March 19, 2010, while Doyle was still employed at WCQP. On or around May 5, 2010, after Doyle had left his employment at WCQP, the plaintiffs discharged WCQP. Plaintiff counsel's response, docket no. 43 at 2. On June 11, 2010, WCQP filed an attorneys' charging lien, claiming that substantial work on this case had been performed by attorneys employed by WCQP, including Doyle.
Doyle continued to represent the plaintiffs as the principal of the newly-created Doyle Law Firm, P.C ("Doyle Firm"). On October 4, 2010, Doyle scheduled mediation which ended in settlement. This court entered an order of dismissal without prejudice on December 29, 2010, but retained jurisdiction to enforce the settlement. Docket no. 30. An order dismissing plaintiffs' claims with prejudice was entered on October 24, 2011. Docket no. 53.
Three minor children survived the plaintiffs' decedent. An estate was opened for the decedent in the Probate Court of Choctaw County, Alabama. That court initially approved the settlement on January 14, 2011. Docket no. 43-1 at 2. The court later amended that order on June 30, 2011, to include a review of the attorneys' fees and the amount of the settlement which was to be paid to the estate of plaintiffs' decedent. Docket no. 43-1. During that review, the Probate court thoroughly studied the history and complexity of the litigation and heard from Doyle, as well as from the appointedGuardians ad Litem who were there to protect the interests of the decedent's minor children. The Guardians made recommendations. Thereafter, the Probate court approved the settlement agreement and the payment of the 50% contingency fee to the attorneys in its June 30, 2011, order. Amended order approving settlement, docket no. 43-1. The court stated in that order that "[t]he . . . contingency-fee agreement between the Administrator of the Estate and plaintiffs' counsel is appropriate and justified due to the unique nature and issues involved in the underlying litigation and the attorneys' fee pursuant to said agreement is a reasonable fee." Id.
Fifty percent of the settlement amount came to $350,000. Since settlement of this case, Doyle and WCQP have not been able to agree on a division of this sum, with each claiming to be entitled to the majority of the money.
On January 18, 2011, WCQP filed a motion to enforce attorneys' fee lien and stay the case for 14 days [docket no. 31] to allow the attorneys to reach an agreement regarding fees. The attorneys were not able to resolve the dispute at that time. Doyle, opposing WCQP's lien, filed a motion to dismiss the attorneys' charging lien [docket no. 39] on April 4, 2011.
On May 4, 2011, WCQP filed a supplemental motion to enforce attorneys' fee lien [docket no. 41], with supporting documentation including attorney affidavits, time entries, and expenses. WCQP says that its time entries are incomplete because Doyle failed to keep accurate time entries when he worked at WCQP. WCQP, in its motion to supplement, asked for the lodestar amount of attorneys' fees multiplied by a factor of 1.5. The enhancement to the lodestar, says WCQP, is merited because of the successful results, complexity and difficulty of prison litigation, and undesirability of thecase. WCQP also has requested costs.
In September of 2011, WCQP filed a supplemental reply associated with its initial motion to enforce its attorneys' fee lien. In this pleading, WCQP revised its position, asking this court to divide the fees in proportion to the services performed by each firm, instead of applying the lodestar. The firm cites the Mississippi Rules of Professional Conduct and principles of equity to support its position.
WCQP also alleges that Doyle was operating under a contingency-fee agreement which produced excessive fees and paid Doyle an unearned "windfall." The fee agreement, says WCQP, yielded a fee that was not reasonable, as required by Title 42 U.S.C. § 1988, which governs awards of attorneys' fees in federal civil rights cases. The court should review the total fees, argues WCQP, and reduce the total contingency-fee if the...
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