Pavone v. Yeager CA4/1

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 18, 2013
DocketD059578
StatusUnpublished

This text of Pavone v. Yeager CA4/1 (Pavone v. Yeager CA4/1) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pavone v. Yeager CA4/1, (Cal. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

Filed 11/18/13 Pavone v. Yeager CA4/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

BENJAMIN PAVONE, D059578

Plaintiff, Cross-defendant and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. 37-2009-00081568- v. CU-BC-CTL)

CHARLES E. YEAGER,

Defendant, Cross-complainant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Jeffrey B.

Barton, Judge. Affirmed.

Boudreau Williams and Jon R. Williams for Defendant, Cross-complainant and

Appellant.

Mayer Mangan and Katherine M. Mangan for Plaintiff, Cross-defendant and

Respondent. This dispute is between retired General Charles E. Yeager and one of his former

attorneys, Benjamin Pavone. Pavone sued Yeager for attorney fees due under an

attorney-client agreement and Yeager cross-complained against Pavone for damages

caused by his unauthorized use of Yeager's name on his business Web site.

Yeager appeals a judgment denying him any relief and awarding Pavone $19,854

in fees. Yeager challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support the jury's finding

that Pavone did not knowingly use Yeager's name for purposes of advertising or selling

legal services. He also contends reversal is required because the attorney-client

agreement is ambiguous as to the scope of Pavone's services, the special verdict form did

not require the jury to specify which services the agreement covered, and the special

verdict form also contained unconscionable terms that render it invalid. We affirm the

judgment.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In 2008 Yeager, through his wife Victoria Yeager (Victoria), contacted Pavone

about representing Yeager in various matters, including litigation commenced by

Citibank over a credit card dispute and two pending federal actions, Yeager v. Yeager

(E.D. Cal., No. 2:06-cv-001196-JAM-EFB) (Yeager matter), a financial dispute involving

his children from his first marriage and Yeager v. Bowlin (E.D. Cal., No. CIV. 2:08-

00102 WBS JFM) (Bowlin matter), a dispute over the unauthorized use of Yeager's name.

Victoria expressed dissatisfaction with Yeager's current attorneys and indicated she

wanted one attorney to represent Yeager in all his legal matters.

2 Pavone and Victoria negotiated an attorney-client agreement and in August 2008

Yeager executed it. The agreement defined the scope of work as "litigation of various

claims and defenses." It specified an hourly rate of $275, required a $5,000 retainer,

included an attorney fees clause, and stated, "[Victoria] will have the right to make

litigation decisions on behalf of [Yeager]."

In September 2008 Yeager substituted Pavone in as his attorney of record in the

Yeager matter and the Bowlin matter. His representation of Yeager, however, was short-

lived.

On October 2, 2008, Pavone placed the following announcement on his business

Web site under the "Latest News" category: "October 2, 2008 - The Law Offices of

Benjamin Pavone is pleased to announce that Gen. Charles E. 'Chuck' Yeager has

retained the firm for all of its litigation needs. General Yeager is the legendary flying

ace, with aviation accomplishments ranging from an extraordinary combat record, to

breaking both Mach 1 and Mach 2 speed of sound barriers, to being saluted in the movie

'The Right Stuff.' Ben: 'It is a privilege to continue to attract clients with such

exceptional accomplishments and it is my hope to extend General Yeager's legacy of

honor, dedication and achievement in the courtroom.' " (Boldface omitted.) The top of

the Web site's home page stated, "General Chuck Yeager Comes On Board."

On October 9, 2008, Victoria sent Pavone the following e-mail: "Please remove

Gen Yeager's name from your website. We are suing people for just such unauthorized

use." In a responding e-mail Pavone took an unpleasant tone with Victoria, stating such

things as, "Do you really want me to be your lawyer or are you just waiting for something

3 to be unhappy about?," and "Do you think Johnny Cochran had to get OJ's permission to

put on his site, 'I won the trial of the century, got an acquittal for OJ Simpson'? The

answer is no." Nonetheless, Pavone instructed his Web site designer to remove Yeager's

name from the Web site. The announcement was removed on October 10, but

unbeknownst to the Web site designer the "General Chuck Yeager Comes On Board" link

"was still floating around out there" for some time.

Also in early October 2008, Pavone advised Victoria that in Yeager's federal

actions he wanted to consult with "other lawyers that are at or above my experience

level," at Yeager's expense. Pavone wrote, "Occasionally, when the issue is complicated

enough, gray enough or foreign enough, I like to augment . . . decisions with the input of

people I trust."

Victoria balked and accused Pavone of misrepresenting his skill level. Pavone

responded with an e-mail that stated, "I am concerned that you've had a couple of bad

experiences for one reason or another, and you're a tad defensive, quick to criticize, quick

to judge. I don't fault you for that, but it is of a little concern to me. I want you to be

aware of it." Victoria replied with an e-mail that stated Yeager would find a new attorney

"if you aren't whom you appear to be."

In October 2008 Pavone moved to withdraw from the Yeager matter and the

Bowlin matter. The following month his motions were granted.

Yeager refused to pay Pavone's legal bills for the various matters, which totaled

$19,854. The parties' nonbinding mediation was unsuccessful. Pavone filed a first

amended complaint against Yeager for breach of contract and related claims. Yeager

4 filed a first amended cross-complaint against Pavone for breach of contract, seeking

return of the $5,000 deposit and invasion of privacy based on Pavone's unauthorized use

of Yeager's "name and widely recognized heroic persona" on his business Web site.

After trial, the jury awarded Pavone $114,400 on his claim for breach of contract,

and $19,854 on his claim for money due and owing. The jury found against Yeager on

his cross-complaint. It determined Yeager did not perform his contractual obligations,

and Pavone did not knowingly use Yeager's name to advertise or sell products or legal

services.

The court conditionally granted Yeager's motion for a new trial, unless Pavone

consented to a reduction of his award to a total of $19,854. During trial, the court

excluded evidence of the time Pavone spent representing himself in this action, based on

Trope v. Katz (1995) 11 Cal.4th 274, 277, 292 (attorney cannot recover fees for self-

representation), but Pavone nonetheless made several references in front of the jury as to

the number of hours he spent on this action. The court presumed the jury relied on his

improper comments as there was no evidence to support an award above the fees of

$19,854 he billed for his representation of Yeager.

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