Chaffin v. Chambers

577 So. 2d 1125, 1991 WL 46812
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 28, 1991
DocketCW 90 1137
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 577 So. 2d 1125 (Chaffin v. Chambers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chaffin v. Chambers, 577 So. 2d 1125, 1991 WL 46812 (La. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

577 So.2d 1125 (1991)

Richard E. CHAFFIN
v.
H. Matthew CHAMBERS.

No. CW 90 1137.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

March 28, 1991.
Rehearing Denied May 2, 1991.

*1126 Dennis R. Whalen, Baton Rouge, for plaintiff Richard E. Chaffin.

S. Alfred Adams, Baton Rouge, for defendant H. Matthew Chambers.

Before COVINGTON, C.J., and LANIER and GONZALES, JJ.

LANIER, Judge.

This action commenced as a suit for damages in tort alleging wrongful interference with a contract between an attorney and his client. The defendant filed a declinatory exception raising the objection of lack of subject matter jurisdiction and a peremptory exception raising the objection of no cause of action. The trial court overruled both exceptions. The defendant applied to this court for supervisory relief. We granted a writ of certiorari to review the ruling on the peremptory exception. Herlitz *1127 Construction Company, Inc. v. Hotel Investors of New Iberia, Inc., 396 So.2d 878 (La.1981).

FACTS

In Succession of Bertaut, 572 So.2d 142, 144 (La.App. 1st Cir.1990), writ denied, 573 So.2d 1111 (La.1991), appears the following:

The peremptory exception raising the objection of no cause of action tests the legal sufficiency of the petition and is triable on the face of the pleadings. For the purpose of determining the validity of the exception, all well-pleaded allegations of fact are accepted as true, and if the allegations set forth a cause of action as to any part of the demand, the exception must be overruled.... Doubts are resolved in favor of the sufficiency of the petition. (Citations omitted).

The plaintiff asserts the following facts in his petition:

The petition of Richard E. Chaffin, a resident of lawful age of the Parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana and an attorney at law licensed to practice law in the State of Louisiana with respect shows that:
1.
On or about May 1, 1989, petitioner entered into a contract with Allen L. Miller, Jr., witnessed by the parents of Allen L. Miller, Jr., for the purpose of petitioner bringing an action, on behalf of Allen L. Miller, Jr. against parties responsible for damages to Allen L. Miller, Jr. suffered on or about April 29, 1989 at Rumors Lounge in Ascension Parish, Louisiana and further at the hands of a City Police officer from Port Vincent, Louisiana who is also a deputy sheriff of Livingston Parish.
2.
Petitioner recorded his contract of employment, and filed suit against the original tort feasors in this case, Terrell Scott, Tim Albritton, Barry Zito, and Scottsdale Insurance Company.
. . . . . .
4.
Subsequent to petitioner's being retained, recording his contract, and filing suit on behalf of Allen L. Miller, Jr., defendant H. Matthew Chambers, alleged to be an attorney at law practicing in the State of Louisiana, contacted Allen L. Miller, Jr. Chambers was made aware that Allen L. Miller, Jr. had retained petitioner but convinced him that he, H. Matthew Chambers, could better represent Allen L. Miller, Jr. than Richard E. Chaffin and the two attorneys who had been associated by petitioner.
5.
H. Matthew Chambers telephoned a partner of the law firm of Due, Smith, and Caballero, Rick Caballero, in Memphis, Tennessee, and offered to "peddle" the representation of Allen L. Miller, Jr., on information and belief for 50% of the attorney fee to be charged Allen L. Miller, Jr.
6.
Initially, Paul Due, senior partner of Due, Smith, and Caballero, and Rick Caballero, declined to interfere with the known contractual relationship existing between Allen L. Miller, Jr. and Richard E. Chaffin, and so advised Richard Chaffin and H. Matthew Chambers. The reasons stated were Due's unwillingness to sue Livingston Parish law enforcement officers,, [sic] and Due's knowledge of petitioner's contract of representation.
7.
At that point, H. Matthew Chambers attempted to peddle the representation of Allen L. Miller, Jr. back to Richard E. Chaffin for 25% of the attorney fee, which was refused by Chaffin. Chambers also attempted to enlist the aid of another lawyer to help peddle the representation of Allen L. Miller, Jr. back to Richard E. Chaffin; the other lawyer refused.
*1128 8.
Petitioner shows that subsequently after continued contacts by H. Matthew Chambers with Allen L. Miller, Jr., Paul Due and H. Matthew Chambers individually induced Allen L. Miller, Jr. to breach his contract with Richard E. Chaffin and retain Paul Due of the firm of Due, Smith, and Caballero, for an excessive attorney fee of as much as 50% of all sums recovered on behalf of Allen L. Miller, Jr.
9.
The actions of H. Matthew Chambers were in violation of the contractual rights existing between Richard E. Chaffin and Allen L. Miller, Jr., were conducted because of the greed of H. Matthew Chambers, in order that he could peddle the representation of Allen L. Miller, Jr. to Paul Due for, on information and belief, 50% of the attorney fee charged by Paul Due, and have caused Richard E. Chaffin the loss of the professional representation of Allen L. Miller, Jr., in which he could be reasonably expected to earn an attorney fee of one third of the sums recovered for Allen L. Miller, Jr., believed at this time to be a minimum of $3,300,000.00 in insurance coverages covering the tort feasors or responsible parties for the damages to Allen L. Miller, Jr., whose injuries include spinal cord injuries resulting in total paralysis below the waist and partial paralysis from the neck to the waist.
10.
Petitioner shows that the actions of H. Matthew Chambers were initiated out of greed, and for the purpose of depriving petitioner of his right to continue as the attorney of Allen L. Miller, Jr., and for H. Matthew Chambers to acquire, for the act of peddling the representation of Allen L. Miller, Jr., to Paul Due, 50% of the attorney fee charged by Paul Due.

CAUSE OF ACTION

The plaintiff asserts that a "petition which alleges the intentional inducement of a breach of contract by a person not a party to the contract, states a cause of action under Article 2315, Louisiana Civil Code", citing 9 to 5 Fashions, Inc. v. Spurney, 538 So.2d 228 (La.1989). The defendant contends that the 9 to 5 decision cannot be applied to the facts of this case and "in light of our jurisprudence, codified law and common law authorities ..." the "petition fails to state a cause of action".

The contract between an attorney and his client may be one of mandate, or it may be one for the lease of the attorney's skill and labor, or it may be a combination of both. La.R.S. 37:212(A)(1, 2); La.C.C. art. 2985 et seq.; La.C.C. art. 2675 and 2745 et seq. In such a contract, the attorney agrees to perform a service for the client and the client agrees to compensate the attorney for the service. Board of Commissioners, Fifth Louisiana Levee District v. Commission on Ethics for Public Employees, 457 So.2d 802 (La.App. 1st Cir. 1984). La.R.S. 37:218, as amended by Acts 1989, No.

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Bluebook (online)
577 So. 2d 1125, 1991 WL 46812, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chaffin-v-chambers-lactapp-1991.