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# Jury endured to hear lawyers suing lawyers
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/jury-endured-to-hear-lawyers-suing-lawyers/
- Published: 2002-02-16T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T00:02:45.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Crime, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*Judge warns attorneys not to make jury more hostile than it already is*

*By DAVE DANFORTH Daily Press Staff Writer*

A local judge has warned a flock of lawyers that if their case goes too far, they will be ordered to cough up about $300,000 they’ve already pocketed.

Because lawyers rarely battle over their fees in front of a jury, Superior Court Judge Robert Letteau found it offensive that the case he is presiding has three lawyers suing a fourth over the splitting of a “contingency fee.”

“In 20 years, I’ve never seen a jury as hostile as this one,” Letteau told the attorneys in Santa Monica Superior Court this week shortly after opening arguments in the legal fee case. “These jurors don’t want anything to do with this.”

> “In 20 years, I’ve never seen a jury as hostile as this one. These jurors don’t want anything to do with this.” — — ROBERT LETTEAU Santa Monica Superior Court Judge

The warning from Letteau comes because the lawyers promised to keep the identity of their client confidential in the original case, which is unknown because of client confidentiality. Should the trial reach the point where the client is named, Letteau said he would order the lawyers to return all of the fees they already have earned due to the breach.

One of the attorneys, Peter Scolney, who practices in Santa Monica, sued with two others, claiming the $100,000 they were paid for partnering in a case with Matt Tamber isn’t enough. Tamber is denying their claim to a 45 percent split of the “contingency fee” and claims they were paid what their time, at $325 per hour, is worth. The firm of Sherry Spees, Scolney, and Michael Weiss is claiming they’re owed $80,000 more.

The dispute arose after the lawyers coaxed a $1.55 million settlement in 1999 in a real estate case.

“I can see this case going sour on you,” Judge Letteau warned the combatants. “If the identity of the client emerges, this is over and you have to give the money back.”

Tamber objected to the warning, claiming he was being sued and might have to refer to the quality of work done in his defense.

But Letteau swept away the objection, warning the attorneys, “this is a collective risk we’re all going to take.” He said he would avoid blaming the parties and simply order the fees disgorged if the original client was named.

One attorney recognized the warning as a particularly fierce message to settle the case and send the jury home.

“No judge wants to preside over attorneys arguing over fees,” said Charles Lindner, who is representing Scolney and his partners. “It’s bad enough to deal with litigants.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 16, 2002.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/021602.pdf?ref=smdp.com)