Recent Development by Laura A. Smith
George O'Rourke fired his attorney, Roland Belsome, from a medical malpractice case ten days after Belsome had set the case for trial and five and one-half years after O'Rourke had retained Belsome. The trial court in Belsome's intervention found that O'Rourke had dismissed Belsome because of poor communication, Belsome's admitted lack of experience in medical malpractice cases, and O'Rourke's lack of confidence in his attorney which was enhanced by Belsome's “unprofessional social demeanor.” O'Rourke retained a second attorney and signed a contingency fee retainer identical to the one he had signed with Belsome. Belsome intervened in the underlying medical malpractice action to collect fees due to him. The Twenty-Fourth Judicial District Court of Louisiana found that Belsome's discharge was justified. Using a quantum meruit theory of recovery the court awarded Belsome an hourly fee. The Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's judgment. On certiorari, the Louisiana Supreme Court held that, under a modified quantum meruit analysis, trial courts must allocate a percentage of the highest ethical contingency fee agreed to an attorney discharged for cause, and then deduct a portion of this fee based on the causes for the dismissal. O'Rourke v. Cairns, 683 So. 2d 697 (La. 1996).
About the Author
Laura A. Smith.
Citation
71 Tul. L. Rev. 1835 (1997)