Cal Pak Delivery, Inc. v. United Parcel Service, Inc.
Opinion
Opinion
Kline, J.
Introduction
In this case we determine whether the trial court abused its discretion in disqualifying Attorney Michael N. Khourie as counsel for Cal Pak Delivery, Inc. (Cal Pak) where Khourie admitted he had offered to sell out his client and the class which the client was seeking to represent for a payment to himself personally of approximately $8 to $10 million. We believe that to state the question is to answer it.
We also address the related question of whether the trial court abused its discretion in ruling that Khourie could receive no attorney’s fees either for work preceding his unethical act or thereafter, no matter how successful the eventual outcome of the litigation, and regardless whether his services materially contributed to that success.
Statement of the Case/Facts
Background.
In 1992 Cal Pak, a competitor of respondent United Parcel Service (UPS), filed a complaint with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) alleging UPS had made illegal overcharges between February 24, 1992, and February 3, 1993, and challenging UPS tariff revisions. The PUC ruled the UPS tariffs were “[U]nlawful and ineffective, since they were not approved by the [PUC], as required…