Law Offices of Jerris Leonard, P.C. v. Mideast Systems, Ltd.
United States District Court for the District of Columbia
111 F.R.D. 359 (1986)
- Written by Denise McGimsey, JD
Facts
The United States Department of the Interior prevailed in a prior lawsuit with Mideast Systems, Ltd. and China Civil Construction (MS/CCC) (defendants), which were represented by the Law Offices of Jerris Leonard, P.C. (Leonard) (plaintiff). After MS/CCC failed to pay their legal fees, Leonard filed a fee action against them in federal district court. MS/CCC never appeared in the lawsuit, and default judgment was eventually entered against them. Almost a year later, MS/CCC filed a malpractice action against Leonard in a New York state court, based on settlement advice given by Leonard in the government litigation. Leonard responded by seeking a declaration in federal court that MS/CCC were barred from pursuing their malpractice claim, because it was a compulsory counterclaim that they had failed to raise in Leonard’s earlier fee action.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Gasch, J.)
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