Law Offices of David Efron v. Matthews & Fullmer Law Firm, No. 14-1001 (1st Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseThe parties in this case were two law firms that disputed how to split attorneys’ fees due them as a result of their mutual clients’ recovery (Plaintiffs) in the personal injury lawsuit that gave rise to this action. The district court awarded a forty percent share to Appellant’s firm. Appellant appealed, asking the First Circuit to reapportion the fees. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court (1) had ancillary jurisdiction over the attorneys’ fees dispute; (2) did not err in finding that Appellant was not credible and intended to mislead the court; (3) did not abuse its discretion in determining the relative value of Appellant’s legal services; and (4) did not violate the prohibition on ex parte communications of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges by communicating ex parte with Plaintiffs in order to resolve a dispute about which lawyer represented them.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on April 7, 2015.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.