Successor counsel is denied fee demands against insurer.

Byline: Pat Murphy

Boston firm Boyle Shaughnessy Law has come up about $191,000 short in what a federal judge called an "Odyssean" quest for attorneys' fees allegedly incurred in connection with the defense it provided an insured in a slip-and-fall case that ultimately settled for $27,000.

First, a federal jury in December awarded only $13,372.36 of the $28,672.56 the law firm claimed it was still owed as successor counsel for Jon Duane, a landlord covered under a homeowner's policy issued by defendant Vermont Mutual Insurance Co.

Second, on Feb. 21, U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns denied Duane's request for what the judge described as a "staggering" award of $175,427.80 in fees and costs as the "prevailing" party in the breach-of-contract case.

"Seen through the lens of what amounts to success under the Fees Act [42 U.S.C. 1988], there is no basis for concluding that what Duane achieved here essentially a rejection by the jury of the reasonableness of the very billings that Vermont Mutual was questioning could be deemed enough of a victory to merit a prevailing party badge," Stearns wrote in Duane v. Vermont Mutual Insurance Co.

The fee dispute had its genesis in what Stearns termed a "sketchy" slip-and-fall case filed by a tenant of one of Duane's properties. The tenant sued Duane in Quincy District Court in October 2016. Vermont Mutual provided a defense under a reservation of rights.

Duane didn't care for the attorney Vermont Mutual appointed, so in May 2017 the landlord invoked his right to hire counsel of his choosing, which turned out to be Patrick Driscoll of Boyle Shaughnessy. Driscoll settled the tort case two months later for $27,000.

According to court records, Driscoll billed Vermont Mutual $49,390.55 for his work. The insurance company paid Boyle Shaughnessy $20,717.99, but balked at paying the rest. Vermont Mutual questioned the reasonableness of nearly $50,000 in attorneys' fees when Driscoll managed to settle the case two months after being retained.

When Vermont Mutual asked for additional documentation of Boyle Shaughnessy's billings, Duane responded with a breach-of-contract suit in Suffolk Superior Court. In turn, the insurance company removed the case to federal court and offered $25,000 to settle the contract dispute.

According to the court's opinion, Duane wanted to accept Vermont Mutual's settlement offer, but Boyle Shaughnessy "balked and overrode the client's decision." At that point, Duane ceased...