In re Davenport

in which Chief Justice Hecht, Justice Green, Justice Johnson, Justice Guzman, Justice Devine, and Justice Brown joined.

This dispute arises from a contingency fee agreement for legal services. The trial court granted a new trial, in part, because the pertinent agreement “unambiguously” permitted the lawyers to recover an ownership interest as attorney fees. However, we conclude that the trial court’s finding was an abuse of discretion because the agreement unambiguously states that the lawyers were only entitled to attorney fees from a monetary recovery. Accordingly, we conditionally grant…