CHICAGO — A Naperville lawyer is asking a judge to declare a former client has no right to arbitrate over his attorney fees amid a legal malpractice action stemming from a case that involved an employment discrimination settlement with Loyola University Chicago.
According to the Aug. 7 Cook County Circuit Court filing, Timothy Coffey and Coffey Law Office, P.C., filed the complaint for declaratory judgment against Lamont Stallworth.
Stallworth retained the Coffey Law Office in December 2016 to handle his ongoing employment discrimination suit against Loyola, which he filed in September 2014. According to the court filing, Stallworth retained at least three separate law firms throughout the case, which was eventually settled in June 2017. Stallworth had also hired an additional attorney other than Coffey to negotiate the final settlement.
In June, Stallworth filed a legal malpractice claim against Coffey claiming he did not receive a good settlement from Loyola, which he said resulted from Coffey's alleged breach of the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct relating to "duty of competence." Stallworth then requested arbitration per his "attorney fee agreement" with Coffey.
Coffey argued the attorney fee agreement "is limited in scope" and applies to the financial relationship between himself and Stallworth, not the state's Rules of Professional Conduct.
Coffey seeks a declaration that the attorney fee agreement does not apply to Stallworth's case and is not subject to arbitration.
Cook County Circuit Court Case No. 2019-CH-9132