Danzig v. Danzig
Washington Court of Appeals
904 P.2d 312 (1995)
- Written by Jamie Milne, JD
Facts
Washington attorney Jeffrey Danzig (defendant) approached Steven Danzig (plaintiff) and told Steven that for every client Steven directed to Jeffrey, Jeffrey would pay Steven a third of the client’s fee. Steven agreed and began soliciting clients for Jeffrey. In each instance, Jeffrey told Steven to submit a bill for an amount equaling the one-third fee, making it look like the bill was an hourly charge for Steven’s time. Steven did this multiple times, and Jeffrey paid. However, the parties’ relationship soured, and Steven eventually brought a breach-of-contract suit against Jeffrey, alleging that Steven referred a client and Jeffrey failed to pay the relevant fee, which was $89,000. The trial court dismissed Steven’s suit, concluding that because the contract was illegal under Washington law, it was unenforceable, and Steven had therefore failed to state a claim on which relief could be granted. Steven appealed to the Washington Court of Appeals.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Munson, J.)
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