$2.2 Million Settlement - Legal Malpractice - 2007

Carl J. Kolb was the Plaintiff's lead counsel, assisted by Phil Watkins.  The client's net recovery after legal fees was approximately $1.3 Million. This case alleged that a major San Antonio law firm had concealed the conflict of interest from the Plaintiff, and estate.  The decedent had sold a parcel of land to a municipality for a municipal water supply some 26 years before the suit was filed, and had since died.  It was discovered after the decedent's death that the municipality had not actually paid the purchase price for the land, and had been using the land to supply the city with water for 25-plus years.  After the sale, the decedent had filed a petition for bankruptcy.  The law firm had represented the decedent during his life in a bankruptcy, and certified to the bankruptcy court that it had no conflict of interest or other interest in the bankruptcy estate.  Upon further investigation, it was also discovered that the law firm had actually represented the municipality around the time of the sale of the land and the bankruptcy proceeding.   The estate of the decedent was the plaintiff.  The plaintiff alleged that the law firm had breached its fiduciary duty to the decedent by failing to reject the executory contract for the sale of the land in bankruptcy and by failing to disclose its representation of the municipality and consequent conflict of interest.  The case settled at mediation for $2.2 Million.   After attorneys' fees and expenses of $900,000.00, net recovery to the client was $1.3 Million.