Laurie Sharpe and Michael Kranzler prevailed on the same cause of action twice, when an attorney sued Chartwell’s insurance carrier client two separate times on the same claim. An attorney filed the same claim on behalf of a married couple twice – first, representing the husband and when that failed, representing the wife. The husband and wife were co-insureds and co-owners of the property in question. Laurie successfully represented Chartwell’s client at a non-binding arbitration, after which the award was unsealed, final judgment was entered in favor of Chartwell’s client, and Laurie obtained a fee award for the carrier as the prevailing party.
The attorney then filed the exact same lawsuit, this time solely on behalf of the wife. Michael handled the second litigation, forcing the plaintiff to voluntarily dismiss the matter with prejudice to avoid a summary judgment hearing on the issue of res judicata. Michael is now pursuing fees, costs, and sanctions against both plaintiffs and their counsel for the frivolous attempt to relitigate a lawsuit that had already been decided in full.
Congratulations, Laurie and Michael!
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