Hollywood star, Johnny Depp, is enmeshed in a $30 million legal malpractice lawsuit against his longtime lawyers. By some accounts, Depp and the firm, Bloom Hergott Diemer Rosenthal LaViolette Feldman Schenkman & Goodman LLP (Bloom), may be close to a settlement.
This lawsuit is just one of many that Depp has faced in the past several years. Before going into the details of the legal malpractice suit, it’s helpful to understand how Depp’s previous settlement relates to the malpractice suit.
In July of 2018, Depp settled a $25 million lawsuit against his former management company, The Management Group (TMG). The lawsuit accused TMG of fraud, theft and malfeasance in the handling of Depp’s assets. Depp is accusing his former lawyers of, among other things, colluding with TMG against his best interests and desires.
Legal malpractice case
In his current legal malpractice lawsuit, “Depp is suing for breach of fiduciary duty, legal malpractice, unjust enrichment, unfair competition and two separate violations of the California Business and Professions Code. He’s asking the court for a declaration that any purported contingent fee deal between himself and Bloom’s firm is invalid, void and unenforceable and that he is entitled to disgorgement and restitution of all fees paid.”
The law firm states that Depp never objected to their arrangement over the nearly twenty-year business arrangement, and they deserve a large portion of his earnings.
Unless settled, a jury trial begins in May of 2019.