Arbitration Of Legal Malpractice Claims Retainer Clause Enforced
The District of Columbia Court of Appeals has handed down a decision in a case where an attorney had sued for unpaid fees in one forum and been sued for legal malpractice in another.
Two sets of proceedings underlie these three consolidated appeals: (1) a malpractice claim filed by Rosanne L. Woodroof against her former attorney Joseph F. Cunningham and his law firm Cunningham & Associates, PLC (collectively “Cunningham”), and (2) proceedings to enforce a foreign judgment for unpaid attorney’s fees that Cunningham obtained against Woodroof in Virginia. The primary issue before this court is whether we have jurisdiction to hear Woodroof’s appeal from the trial court’s order staying the malpractice proceedings and compelling arbitration. We hold that we do have jurisdiction of that appeal; our jurisdiction of the appeals related to the foreign judgment proceedings is not questioned. We affirm the challenged order and the judgment of the Superior Court.
A D.C. trial judge had directed that an arbitration provision in the retainer agreement be enforced
Cunningham argues that Woodroof cannot appeal Judge Holeman’s order. He asserts that, by making such orders appealable, the Council of the District of Columbia violated the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, Pub. L. 93-198, 87 Stat. 774 (1973) (“the Home Rule Act”) by attempting to expand our jurisdiction. We reject Cunningham’s argument.
And this dispute was subject to arbitration
With our jurisdiction confirmed, we now reach the merits of this appeal – whether the trial court erred by ordering the parties to arbitrate the malpractice action. Woodroof argues that she should not be compelled to arbitrate her claim because the Arbitration Agreement was ambiguous, selectively invoked to Cunningham’s advantage, and an unenforceable consumer adhesion contract. We disagree…
Ultimately, to the extent, if at all, that Cunningham’s actions make the agreement ambiguous, any ambiguity is construed in favor of arbitration, and thus the Arbitration Agreement is “susceptible of an interpretation” that would include Woodroof’s claim regarding the services rendered by Cunningham under the Retainer Agreement.
The court rejected the argument that the retainer agreement was a contract of adhesion and contentions that both parties should have been subject to contempt sanction.
One unusual participant in the litigation
Adam Raviv and Lauren N. Moore were on the brief for amicus curiae The Attorney/Client Arbitration Board of the District of Columbia Bar in response to the court’s April 20, 2015, order for the purpose of contesting the appealability of the Superior Court order compelling arbitration.
Hope my mandatory bar dues did not finance that effort, with which I disagree and which the court here rejected. Nice to know that the Bar took up the attorney’s view against the client.
The opinion was authored by Associate Judge John Fisher. (Mike Frisch)