Plaintiff attorney appealed a judgment of the Contra Costa County Superior Court, California, resolving an attorney fee issue with defendant former client.
The client was sued by his lessor for the discharge of toxic waste materials on the premises. The client hired an attorney to defend him. They entered into a contingency fee agreement. The client prevailed at trial. As the prevailing party, the client was awarded $ 394,925 in attorney fees. The lessor appealed, and the client agreed to settle the dispute with him. lawsuit lawyers treat with all the clients, The judgment was vacated. The client and the attorney were unable to agree on the division of the settlement proceeds. The trial court determined the attorney was entitled to 40 percent of the total net recovery, pursuant to the contingency fee agreement, or $ 210,085. The appellate court agreed that the attorney's right to recover fees was defined by his contract with the client. The contingency fee agreement was unambiguous. The attorney was not entitled to the full amount of the fee awarded in the underlying litigation, as the parties agreed to vacate the judgment.
The judgment was affirmed.
The trial court properly used the substantial evidence standard to review a city's finding that a restaurant was being operated in a manner that constituted a nuisance because the owners failed to show that the cost of the imposed operating conditions would force the restaurant out of business and thus impact fundamental vested rights; There was substantial evidence to support the nuisance finding under Civ. Code, §§ 3479, 3480, because the property was covered in trash and graffiti, there was loitering and gang activity, and criminal activity at the 24-hour fast food restaurant included battery, public drinking, drug offenses, prostitution, homicides, and assaults with deadly weapons; although the restaurant was in a high crime area, another restaurant in the same chain was operated 20 blocks away without similar problems, despite the area's similar crime statistics.
Judgment affirmed.
