McClane, Graf, Raulerson & Middleton, P.A. v. Rechberger

The full case caption appears at the end of this opinion.

LIPEZ, Circuit Judge. These appeals arise from protracted litigation over attorney’s fees allegedly owed by Alfred Rechberger (“Rechberger”) and ARC Partners, Ltd. (“ARC”) to the New Hampshire law firm McLane, Graf, Raulerson, & Middleton, P.A. (“McLane”). Rechberger focuses on three rulings against him. First, he challenges the district court’s partial summary judgment award of $135,157.77 to McLane on its contract claim because he believes that an attorney’s allegedly erroneous initial valuation of the damages exposure from the case for which the attorney was retained should relieve him from liability for all fees generated by the matter. Second, he challenges the jury award to McLane of $39,567.50 in fees, claiming that he lost because the district court construed the surviving count of his third-party complaint and counterclaim too narrowly. Finally, he challenges the district court’s summary judgment ruling against him on his third-party complaint against an attorney, Jon Meyer (“Meyer”), who handled the litigation at issue before McLane did. In its appeal, ARC challenges the district court’s refusal to amend, alter, vacate or clarify the judgment entered jointly against it and Rechberger for attorney’s fees.