Phelps Steel, Inc. v. Von Deak

What we have here is the assertion of an attorney’s lien under G. L. c. 221, § 50, following rupture of the attorney-client relationship. We affirm a judgment awarding a lien of $108,000 in favor of Cain, Hibbard, Myers & Cook (hereafter “CHMC”), a professional corporation. 2

CHMC had acted as counsel for Phelps Steel, Inc. (Phelps), a fabricator and erector of structural steel, in a construction contract dispute with Pyramid Company of Holyoke (Pyramid) (see note 1). That case had gone well for Phelps, resulting in a judgment in its favor of $286,651. Between the time of a master’s report,…