DAVID SOMERS AND ASSOCIATES v. BUSCH, 927 A. 2d 832 - Conn: Supreme Court 2007

Aug 07, 2007

OUTCOME: Judgment for DEFENDANT

Attorney Keily represented the DEFENDANT before the CT Supreme Court and received a favorable judgment on an issue of first impression. ABOUT THE CASE: The trial court concluded that “[i]f a Conne ... cticut lawyer fails to fully perform services for a client, as agreed to, under a contract he has terminated because of his own disbarment, the  measure of his recovery, if any, from his client for the partial performance of those services should be the benefit derived by the client from that partial [performance] in advancing the objects of the contract, not the reasonable value of such services in the relevant legal services market.”   Applying this rule, the trial court determined that many of the services for which the plaintiff sought compensation did not benefit the defendant, as they did nothing to advance the purpose of the agreement, and that the plaintiff was, therefore, not entitled to any restitution for those services.  The trial court also determined, however, that the plaintiff was entitled to compensation for benefits conferred on the defendant that were in furtherance of the agreement's objective, and the trial court found that the value of  the benefits derived by the defendant amounted to, at most, $3625.   As the defendant had already paid the plaintiff approximately $4730, the trial court determined that the plaintiff's compensation exceeded the value of benefits conferred upon the defendant.   Accordingly, the trial court concluded that the defendant had not been unjustly enriched through the plaintiff's partial performance, and rendered judgment for the defendant.  Although the unjust enrichment rule of recovery for partial performance prior to breach of a contract has not yet been applied in the factual situation-namely, an attorney disbarred prior to the conclusion of representation-we see no reason that it should not be, because there is no rational justification for applying a different rule to attorneys as a group of professionals.   Accordingly, we conclude that if an attorney fails to perform fully under a contract that has been terminated because of his or her own disbarment, the disbarred attorney may recover, under the doctrine of unjust enrichment, for partial performance of services rendered in furtherance of the contract's objective, the measure of which is the benefit derived by the client.  As the trial court properly found that the amount of benefit afforded to the defendant, as a result of plaintiff's services, was less than the amount the defendant already had paid to the plaintiff, we conclude that the plaintiff may not recover restitutionary relief for legal services rendered to the defendant.