Villa v. Heilmann

Plaintiff James Villa, an attorney who sued former law partner Thomas Heilmann for breach of contract when defendant refused to split the contingency fee he received in a case that was pending at the time the parties ended their law practice together, appeals from a jury verdict in favor of defendant. We affirm.

Most of the relevant facts are not in dispute. In 1977, prior to the time the parties became partners, defendant was retained by Greenmoss Builders to represent its interests in a defamation action against a company that issued an erroneous credit report. In August 1979, the parties…