Oliver v. Towns

Patricia Towns hired lawyer Beatrice Oliver to represent Towns in regard to a personal-injury claim. The claim was settled for $12,000. Towns and Oliver had a contingency-fee contract by which Towns was to receive 60% of the settlement ($7,200), with Oliver receiving 40% as her fee. Towns never saw the settlement check, because Oliver forged Towns's endorsement and kept the entire $12,000 for herself.

Towns sued Oliver to recover funds received by Oliver for Towns but not remitted to Towns. The court entered a default judgment against Oliver. It awarded Towns $500,000 in compensatory damages…