Quantum Meruit – Attorney’s Fees

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Dustan Dobbs v. DePuy Orthopedics, Inc., et al

Case No.: 16-2135

Officials: FLAUM and KANNE, Circuit Judges, and MAGNUSSTINSON, District Judge

Focus: Quantum Meruit – Attorney’s Fees

Dustan Dobbs hired Appellees George McLaughlin, John Gehlhausen, and Anthony Argeros as his attorneys on a contingency fee basis. Appellees filed Dobbs’s product-liability claim against DePuy Orthopedics in the DePuy ASR Hip Implant Multidistrict Litigation in the Northern District of Ohio. DePuy subsequently offered to settle all claims in that litigation. Despite advice and pressure from McLaughlin, Dobbs refused to settle and discharged Appellees. Later, Dobbs changed his mind and decided to accept the settlement offer. Because the employment contract was inoperative when Dobbs settled, Appellees sought compensation under a quantum meruit theory. The district court awarded attorneys’ fees in the full amount of the original contract. Dobbs argues that the district court abused its discretion by not analyzing the factors that Illinois courts look to when calculating reasonable attorneys’ fees under quantum meruit. We agree.

Vacated and Remanded

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.