Two area lawyers have settled a fight over fees in Washington federal court, ending one of two lawsuits surrounding the dispute.
The case involves a share of a $4 million jury verdict awarded in 2007 to Dominic Novak, who successfully sued the owners of a nightclub after he was beaten outside the venue in 1998. Longtime Washington plaintiffs' lawyer Patrick Regan of Regan, Zambri & Long handled the bulk of the case.
In Aug. 2010, Douglas Lines, a solo practitioner in Richmond, Va., sued Regan in the Circuit Court of the Country of Chesterfield, Va., claiming he was never paid for work he did early on in Novak's case. Regan then sued Lines in March 2011 in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, claiming Lines had breached his duty to Novak and wasn't entitled to fees because he never did meaningful work on the case.
The lawsuit in Washington was dismissed in February for lack of standing, and Regan filed an amended complaint in March. Later that month, the case was assigned to U.S. District Magistrate Judge Alan Kay for settlement talks.
The two sides filed a notice (PDF) yesterday with the court that they were voluntarily dismissing the case. The case in Chesterfield is still pending, however.
Regan, Lines and Lines' attorney in the Washington case, Justin Flint of Eccleston & Wolf, could not immediately be reached for comment today.
In a previous interview, Regan had said he did put funds in escrow in the event Lines prevailed in the Virginia case, but that he was doubtful Lines could prove he had earned it. Lines has never spoken about the case.
Comments