The Supreme Court of Nebraska will conduct a hearing on May 30, 2007 to hear a legal malpractice case against keno operators and the second biggest law firm in Nebraska.
Mr. Richard T. Bellino wants the Supreme Court to allow a jury decision which will award him $1.6 million, but District Judge Patricia Lamberty said that the evidence during the trial did not specify the amount and ordered McGrath, North, Mullin and Kratz to give Bellino $229,000.
In a statement before the court, the lawyers of Bellino, David Domina and Claudia Stringfield said that the jury of a verdict should be kept secret by the courts and the state of Nebraska does not allow a district court to immediately write a conclusion which is not supported by evidence.
The law firm wants the Supreme Court to throw out the case immediately. In a statement from lawyers John Douglas and David Blagg, they said that a lawyer who acts honestly and believes that their actions are within the boundaries of the law and in the best interest of their client, cannot be accused of malpractice even if they have committed a mistake.
In October 2005, a jury decided that lawyers James D. Wegner, William F. Hargens and the law firm did not properly tell Bellino how to part ways with his business partner before launching another business. Bellino wanted to part ways with Robert Anderson in La Vista Lottery and set up his own business.
His lawyers advised him to keep a 50% share in La Vista Lottery and launch La Vista Keno at the same time. Anderson sued Bellino after Bellino won a contract against La Vista Lottery to provide keno games to the residents in the city. After that, Bellino sued his lawyers, claiming that he had been ill advised.
Sunday, June 03 , 2007
John M. Thorpe
