In Re Clark Warren Baker
Opinion
Trial Court Opinion
I. BACKGROUND
On October 5, 2015, Murtagh brought an adversary bankruptcy action against debtor Clark Baker under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(4) and (6). (ER 4070.)1 While Steele purported to hold an attorney-client relationship with Baker from at latest 2010, (id. at 4046), Baker retained Cohen for legal representation in the adversary action, (id. at 4072). Steele represented non-party Robert Leppo, who formed a joint-defense agreement with Baker and paid Baker’s legal fees. (Id. at 4071–72, 4075–76.) Leppo
1 The excerpts of record (“ER”) are contained in ECF Nos. 12-1 to 12-25. For brevity’s sake, pinpoint citations of the record on appeal refer only to the ER- stamped page numbers in the footer.
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retained Steele for legal advice related to a September 4, 2015 letter from Murtagh’s attorney, John Wallace, accusing Leppo and Baker of running an allegedly defamatory website against Murtagh. (Id. at 4064–65.)
Put charitably, litigation between Murtagh and Baker was contentious. Throughout proceedings, Murtagh…