DH-1, LLC v. City of Falls City

Summary

The Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed summary judgment for the City of Falls City in a dispute over a contingent-fee agreement between the city and two law firms. The court held that the agreement applied to specified litigation and that no recoverable verdict or settlement occurred under its terms. The court also rejected the firms’ equitable claims because the express agreement covered the relevant subject matter and the firms failed to identify uncompensated work outside the agreement.

Holdings

1. DH-1, LLC had standing because the firms assigned their claims to it, making DH-1 the real party in interest.
2. The firms were not entitled to a contingent fee because the agreement applied to the specified litigation and required a recoverable verdict or settlement from those claims; the withdrawal and restructuring agreement did not satisfy that contingency.
3. The express contingent-fee agreement superseded the firms' unjust-enrichment and other quasi-contract claims to the extent that it covered the subject matter of the requested relief.
4. Summary judgment was proper on the firms' equitable claims because the firms failed to identify services performed outside the contingent-fee agreement for which Falls City received a benefit.

Questions Presented

1. Whether DH-1, LLC, as assignee of the firms' claims, had standing to pursue the fee-related claims.
2. Whether the contingent-fee agreement entitled the firms to compensation based on benefits Falls City received through the withdrawal and restructuring agreement rather than through a recoverable verdict or settlement in the specified litigation.
3. Whether the firms could recover under unjust enrichment, quasi-contract, or quantum meruit for services allegedly outside the scope of the contingent-fee agreement.
4. Whether summary judgment was properly granted to Falls City.

Disposition

affirmed