Braddock Law Firm, PLLC v. Becnel

139 So. 3d 722, 2013 WL 3985008, 2013 Miss. App. LEXIS 473
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedAugust 6, 2013
DocketNo. 2012-CA-00345-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 139 So. 3d 722 (Braddock Law Firm, PLLC v. Becnel) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Braddock Law Firm, PLLC v. Becnel, 139 So. 3d 722, 2013 WL 3985008, 2013 Miss. App. LEXIS 473 (Mich. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

ISHEE, J.,

for the Court:

¶ 1. In the late 1990’s, a group of approximately 224 clients were gathered to pursue a class-action lawsuit against a pharmaceutical company for damages suffered from a dangerous product produced and marketed by the pharmaceutical company.1 Daniel E. Becnel Jr. and the Braddock Law Firm PLLC (Braddock Law), run by Tal Braddock (Braddock), were both associated with the lawsuit. After a successful trial on the merits, P.C. agreed to settle a limited number of the remaining future cases. Attorneys’ fees were distributed to the associated plaintiffs’ attorneys pursuant to a fee-splitting agreement. A dispute arose as to the distribution of fees, among other issues. Braddock filed suit in the Hinds County Chancery Court on behalf of Braddock Law against Becnel and other attorneys associated with the lawsuit for breach of the fee-splitting agreement. After the first trial on the merits was reversed and remanded on appeal,2 Braddock proceeded with a second trial in 2011. During the trial, Braddock agreed to a settlement with all attorneys other than Becnel. At the close of the trial, the chancery court determined that no contract existed between Braddock and Becnel with regard to attorneys’ fees, and that all other claims against Becnel were without merit. Aggrieved, Braddock appeals. Finding no reversible error, we affirm.

STATEMENT OF FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 2. Becnel, who practiced law in Louisiana, was the originating attorney in this products-liability lawsuit. He associated Michael T. Gallagher and his law firm, which included lawyers in Texas and Mississippi, to bring more claimants into the class-action lawsuit and to try the lawsuit. After a successful trial resulted in a substantial judgment for the plaintiffs, Becnel and Gallagher began settlement talks with P.C. regarding future cases. The negotia[724]*724tions centered on P.C.’s flat-rate settlement offer on a per-case basis.

¶ 3. Gallagher soon approached Braddock about associating with them in the settlement talks and referring more Mississippi claims that would fall within the purview of the settlement. This would, theoretically, increase P.C.’s settlement offer since the total settlement offer would depend on the number of claims procured. Braddock claims that Gallagher entered into an agreement with him to split the fees, with forty percent going to Gallagher and sixty percent to Braddock. Gallagher admits that an oral agreement on attorneys’ fees was discussed with Braddock, but disputes the percentages.

¶ 4. Based on the sixty-percent-fee promise, Braddock associated Bobby Gill and Richard Martin to assist him in finding claimants they could represent and include in Gallagher’s settlement negotiations. The three attorneys agreed to split Braddock’s sixty-percent fee between themselves, with Gill and Martin receiving fifty-seven percent and Braddock receiving three percent.

¶ 5. After independently researching the specifics of the lawsuit, Gill and Martin became aware of Becnel’s involvement and contacted him to inform him of their fee agreement with Gallagher. By virtue of this conversation, Becnel became aware that P.C.’s offer to Gallagher was more than three times what P.C. had offered to Becnel for his clients. Furthermore, the record reflects that at the time Becnel was not aware of Braddock’s existence or participation in the lawsuit. As such, Becnel entered into a fee-splitting agreement with Gill and Martin to include their Mississippi clients with his clients to present to P.C. for settlement. In turn, Gill and Martin executed an agreement with Braddock to split the attorneys’ fees within thirty days of Becnel’s settlement.

¶ 6. However, Becnel soon breached his agreement with Gill and Martin, and personally met with P.C.’s counsel in an attempt to settle his clients on his own in order to procure the entire attorney fee for himself. P.C.’s counsel informed Bec-nel that Gallagher was the only attorney with whom P.C. was settling clients at that time. P.C.’s counsel also informed Becnel that a close review of the attorney-client documents proved that Gill and Martin had no authority to settle the clients they had referred to Becnel.

¶ 7. Becnel then met with Gallagher and another associating attorney, Tim Goss, regarding the fees. After a few weeks of negotiations, they entered into a written agreement entitling Becnel to sixty percent of the fees and Gallagher to forty percent of the fees. However, the contract only named Goss and Becnel as contracting parties, not Gallagher. P.C. soon settled all claims, including claims from the clients referred by Braddock, Gill, and Martin. When the settlement was finalized a short time later, Goss received the attorneys’ fees and forwarded forty percent to Gallagher and the other sixty percent to Becnel. Gallagher later paid six percent of his forty percent to Goss.

¶ 8. Shortly thereafter, Gill and Martin filed suit in the Hinds County Chancery Court against Becnel for intentional breach of contract in failing to pay them the agreed-upon referral fees. Braddock intervened in the suit and joined Gallagher and his associates as defendants. The chancellor granted partial summary judgment to Gill and Martin for the fees Becnel had promised to them. The chancellor then granted summary judgment to Becnel regarding Braddock’s claim of a three-percent attorneys’ fee. The chancellor held that Braddock could not prove a direct relationship regarding a fee agreement with Becnel. Furthermore, at the close of [725]*725Braddock’s case, the chancery court granted Gallagher’s motion for an involuntary dismissal.

¶ 9. All parties, even Becnel, agreed that Becnel was liable to someone for the three-percent fee. However, the chancellor determined that Braddock’s only cause of action could be against Gallagher and his associates. Nonetheless, Gallagher was dismissed from the action, leaving Braddock no recourse.

¶ 10. Becnel soon appealed the chancery court’s judgment. This Court reversed the chancery court’s dismissal of Gallagher and his associates, as well as the chancery court’s denial of Braddock’s motion to amend his complaint to include a count of civil conspiracy. Braddock, 949 So.2d at 45 (¶ 23), (¶ 22). We remanded the case for further proceedings on Braddock’s civil-conspiracy claim and gave Gallagher and his associates the opportunity to present their defense. Id.

¶ 11. On remand, the chancery court ordered the parties to submit memorandums, and later held a hearing on all evidence and the memorandums. The chancery court then entered a final judgment determining that Gallagher and Braddock had a binding settlement agreement, but that no civil conspiracy existed between Becnel and Gallagher. Hence, the chancery court dismissed all of Braddock’s claims against Becnel.

¶ 12. Braddock again appeals the chancery court’s judgment, claiming the court erred in the following ways: (1) dismissing Braddock’s joint-venture claim; (2) dismissing Braddock’s civil-conspiracy claim; and (3) failing to award attorneys’ fees and punitive damages. Finding no error, we affirm the chancery court’s judgment.

DISCUSSION

¶ 18. We review a chancellor’s findings under an abuse-of-discretion standard. Vincent v. Creel, 80 So.3d 859, 862 (¶ 9) (Miss.Ct.App.2012) (citation omitted). Findings of fact are not disturbed unless they are “clearly erroneous [or] manifestly wrong, or the chancellor applied an incorrect legal standard.” Id.

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139 So. 3d 722, 2013 WL 3985008, 2013 Miss. App. LEXIS 473, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/braddock-law-firm-pllc-v-becnel-missctapp-2013.