A recent New York Law Journal story, “Civil Rights Firms Accused of Failing to Honor Fee Agreement,” reports that two prominent civil rights firms in New York are accused by a Washington, D.C. firm of cheating it out of a significant fee as part of a $3.75 million settlement in a wrongful death case.  Catalano & Plache claims that Neufeld Scheck & Brustin and Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady submitted court documents on settlement terms without naming Catalano as a participating firm.

The Catalano firm said it was asked to represent the estate of Emil Mann in a civil rights, negligence and wrongful death claim on behalf of his estate.  The three firms signed a joint retainer letter, along with Mann’s son, who was the executor of his estate, according to the complaint. A retainer letter (pdf) attached to the complaint, dated May 23, 2006, provides that the client agrees “that any attorneys’ fees will be divided among the Firms,” which it named as Cochran Neufeld, Emery Celli and Catalano & Plache.

Specifically, the retainer agreement, on Emery Celli’s letterhead, provides that Catalano & Plache would receive 16.65 percent of the 33.3 percent attorney fees on the first $500,000 recovered; 15 percent of the 30 percent of the fees on the next $500,000; 12.5 percent on the 25 percent of fees on the next $500,000; and 10 percent of the 20 percent of fees recovered in the next $500,000.

In the wrongful death case, the parties agreed to about $2.37 million for compensatory damages; $1.19 million for legal fees; and $185,359 for attorney disbursements, for a total settlement of $3.75 million, according to court documents.  But the Catalano firm alleges the New York firms claimed it was not entitled to a share of fees.  Neufeld Scheck and Emery Celli filed documents in support of the settlement in Orange County, NY, Surrogate’s Court, and the New Jersey court “that failed to name Catalano & Plache LLC as counsel to the estate,” Catalano argues.