Suit claims Duane Morris blew estimate of expected case costs, highlighting projection difficulties
A former client’s suit claiming Duane Morris misrepresented the expected costs of representation highlights the problems that can arise as a result of cost projections.
The suit by Edward Zaloga, a doctor from Moosic, Pennsylvania, claims the firm drafted a litigation budget estimating costs of $255,750 to handle a Section 1983 claim against the borough’s municipal government, the Legal Intelligencer (sub. req.) reports. The firm allegedly exceeded the estimate, which was supposed to take the case through post-trial motions, by more than $600,000 during pretrial skirmishing.
The suit claims Zaloga hired the firm because he was friends with the parents of one of the lawyers there, according to the Legal Intelligencer’s account of the suit. Zaloga claims he was never told he had little chance of prevailing on his First Amendment retaliation claim against the borough. The suit had claimed the town did not allow Zaloga to speak out in a zoning dispute, according to 2012 coverage by the Times-Tribune of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
The suit claims Duane Morris had a duty to re-evaluate the fee agreement through the pretrial process, which included dismissed claims, the addition of more claims, the tossing of the suit, and the filing of an amended complaint. When the firm withdrew, it claimed Zaloga owed $300,000 the suit says. Zaloga hired new lawyers and lost the case.
Steven Flaks, director of client operations and analysis at Saul Ewing, spoke with Law.com (sub. req.) about the problems associated with cost estimates. Saul Ewing hired Flaks from Comcast to help with systematic project management.
“It can be very difficult to stick to projections that are done before the case begins, due to unpredictable circumstances,” Flaks told the publication. “The main thing is, you never want clients to raise the concern with you. You want to know there’s an issue before they tell you there’s an issue.”
Flaks said he sees a benefit in breaking a case down into phases and tasks. “Maybe one phase will go off track,” he said, “but the others may be closer to plan, so you’re limiting your risk.”
The article points out that the Zaloga complaint represents the client’s point of view. A lawyer representing Duane Morris in the suit declined to comment when contacted by Law.com. A Duane Morris spokesperson did not comment when contacted by the ABA Journal.
