Terry Gupton, et al. v. Gary A. Davis d/b/a Gary A. Davis & Associates, et al.

This appeal arises from what essentially is a fee dispute between lawyers. A Tennessee Valley Authority (“TVA”) coal ash spill in 2008 damaged the farm of Sandra and Terry Gupton (“the Guptons”). The Guptons signed contingent fee agreements with Gary A. Davis (“Davis”), Stephen Crofford (“Crofford”), and Mary Parker (“Parker”) (“the Defendants,” collectively) to pursue their case. Rebecca Vernetti (“Vernetti”), a lawyer in Davis’s firm who worked on the Guptons’ case, left Davis’s law firm to start her own law firm. The Guptons fired Davis and hired Vernetti. The Guptons later reached an agreement with TVA to sell their farm to TVA, and Vernetti received her fee. The Guptons sued the Defendants in the Chancery Court for Roane County (“the Trial Court”), seeking judgment to the effect that they need not pay any fees to the Defendants. The Defendants counterclaimed and also sued Vernetti, arguing that they should be paid as per their original agreement with the Guptons. The Trial Court declined to award the Defendants their original contingency fee, but instead granted a judgment to the Defendants against Vernetti and her law firm on a quantum meruit theory for their legal services to the Guptons. Vernetti appeals, and the Defendants raise additional issues. We affirm the judgment of the Trial Court in its entirety.