Lawyer assessed $1 million in punitive damages
A Charleston lawyer has been hit with $1 million in punitive damages in the aftermath of a case in which his client reportedly paid $665,000 in litigation costs and still did not recover the entire $300,000 he had spent buying a defective piece of forest-clearing equipment.
A federal jury in Columbia ruled against attorney Robert J. Lowe Jr. on Thursday, finding actual damages of $782,714 and adding the $1 million in punitive damages.
The jury agreed that legal malpractice and negligent misrepresentation were involved. The award came following a four-day trial in front of U.S. District Judge Margaret Seymour.
One of the attorneys who argued the civil complaint said the jury's verdict stands as a reminder that lawyers be attentive.
"Essentially the message is that lawyers need to look out for the economic interests of their clients before their own," Charleston lawyer Paul Tinkler said.
Lowe said Friday he plans to appeal. He defended his representation in the original case by saying his former client had failed to follow his advice when he opted to settle his complaint with the manufacturer before going to trial.
The dispute dates to February 2006 when Florida businessman Jack Tuttle of Tuttle Dozer Works bought a mobile piece of forestry equipment from a South Carolina firm identified as Gyro-Trac.
After the purchase, Tuttle contended that the tree cutter wasn't working correctly and wanted his money back. He hired Lowe to represent him. After setting a payment schedule, the case moved forward.
Tuttle said that as the legal course progressed, he began receiving exorbitant bills that added up over time. The amounts became so great, his current legal team said, that by the time a settlement was available, he took it.
"Of the total agreed settlement of $700,000, Tuttle received approximately $198,000 of the settlement funds," Tuttle's complaint said. After the case ended, Tuttle sued Lowe.
Charleston lawyer Matthew Yelverton, who represented Tuttle in the suit against Lowe, said the case became one of someone who was too trusting. Tuttle "is a very simple country boy; admittedly he doesn't take that as offensive," Yelverton said of his client.
A legal ethicist also said it appears that Lowe took advantage. John Freeman, distinguished professor emeritus at the University of South Carolina School of Law, said in a 2009 deposition that the case had all the signs of representation gone out of hand and failed to hold up to what is expected of lawyers in the state.
"Mr. Tuttle and his company were taken to the cleaners," Freeman said. "Mr. Lowe, in other words, has caused greater injury to his client's financial interests than the defendant he sued on Mr. Tuttle's behalf."
