Andrew Guilford Garners $1.3 Million Attorney Fee Verdict

Andy Guilford and Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton's Business Trial Practice team have obtained a $1.3 million jury verdict in an attorney fee case against nationally known plaintiff's trial attorney Herbert Hafif. Sheppard Mullin represented Ronald C. Stock, an attorney and husband of Orange County Superior Court Judge Nancy Stock, against Hafif and the Law Offices of Herbert Hafif.

"This case was about service to the client, integrity, honoring promises, and paying fees as ethically required to the attorney who did the work," Guilford said. "We are pleased that an attentive jury, after a long trial, has vindicated the hard work and integrity of Ron Stock, who is a fine lawyer and a fine man."

Ronald Stock alleged that he had entered into an oral contract with Hafif in 1993. Under this oral agreement, Stock and Hafif had agreed that Stock would work on various contingency fee and class action cases with Hafif and would be paid a percentage of any attorney fees recovered. Stock sued for breach of oral contract and quantum meruit (the actual value of services performed; used to determine the amount to be paid for services when no written contract exists or when there is doubt as to the amount due for the work performed), among other things, on six different cases involving attorney fees of several million dollars. The trial lasted 11 days.  

The case was tried in Los Angeles Superior Court— Pomona branch. After slightly more than a day of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict finding that Stock and Hafif had contracted to share fees on contingency fee cases and class actions that produced recoveries, and that Hafif had failed to pay Stock over $1.3 million owing under that contract. The $1.3 million verdict, excluding interest and costs, was returned against the defendant on the breach of oral contract claim.

Guilford is a partner in Sheppard Mullin's Business Trial Practice group in Orange County and served as President of the State Bar of California during the 1999-2000 term. He was selected by the 2001 Orange County Trial Lawyers Association as Orange County Business Trial Lawyer of the Year. In September 2001, he was selected as one of California's 100 Most Influential Lawyers by the Daily Journal for the second time in his career. A former President of the Orange County Bar Association, Guilford's trial practice includes business issues relating to technology, unfair competition, professional liability, Constitutional rights, real estate, and finance.

Hafif has won more than 340 jury verdicts that have recovered over $1 billion for clients. Reportedly, this is only the 13th jury trial Hafif has lost. In 2000, he obtained a jury verdict of $54.4 million against the William Lyon Company.Sheppard Mullin has more than 330 attorneys among its seven offices in Los Angeles, West Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Del Mar Heights, Orange County, and San Francisco. The full-service firm provides counsel in Corporate, Trial Practice, Finance, Bankruptcy, Labor and Employment, Intellectual Property, Real Estate, Environmental, Construction, Tax, Employee Benefits, Trusts & Estates, Antitrust & Trade Regulation, Government Contracts, and Business Crimes. The firm is celebrating its 75^th anniversary in 2002.