Doxtader v. Sivertsen

i

Plaintiff brought an action against defendant, his landlord, alleging negligent maintenance of the apartment building where plaintiff lived.

Plaintiff retained John D. Tallman as his attorney and entered into a contingency agreement with Tallman, agreeing to pay him one-third of the amount recovered in the action against defendant.

A default judgment was entered against defendant due to his failure to plead or otherwise defend. The default judgment ordered defendant to pay plaintiff $25,000.

Without plaintiff’s attorney’s knowledge or consent, plaintiff and defendant thereafter allegedly agreed…