{ "id": 5091524, "name": "Herbert Clarke, Plaintiff Below, v. James H. Ireland and Clem Ireland, Defendants Below, Appellees. George E. Sankstone, Petitioner-Appellant", "name_abbreviation": "Clarke v. Ireland", "decision_date": "1952-06-18", "docket_number": "Gen. No. 45,708", "first_page": "354", "last_page": "357", "citations": [ { "type": "official", "cite": "347 Ill. App. 354" } ], "court": { "name_abbreviation": "Ill. App. Ct.", "id": 8837, "name": "Illinois Appellate Court" }, "jurisdiction": { "id": 29, "name_long": "Illinois", "name": "Ill." }, "cites_to": [ { "cite": "314 Ill. App. 455", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. App.", "case_ids": [ 3389001 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-app/314/0455-01" ] }, { "cite": "264 Ill. App. 392", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. App.", "case_ids": [ 3294643 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-app/264/0392-01" ] }, { "cite": "258 Ill. 418", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill.", "case_ids": [ 4723821 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill/258/0418-01" ] } ], "analysis": { "cardinality": 340, "char_count": 5412, "ocr_confidence": 0.521, "pagerank": { "raw": 5.676830387708631e-08, "percentile": 0.35527264330854813 }, "sha256": "ebbb5f0f9d5e6eba3ba1c70a07e682aed09f81e07032903e6ab27bc20b98c180", "simhash": "1:bb2fc4049f77214c", "word_count": 891 }, "last_updated": "2023-07-14T21:43:05.250782+00:00", "provenance": { "date_added": "2019-08-29", "source": "Harvard", "batch": "2018" }, "casebody": { "judges": [], "parties": [ "Herbert Clarke, Plaintiff Below, v. James H. Ireland and Clem Ireland, Defendants Below, Appellees. George E. Sankstone, Petitioner-Appellant." ], "opinions": [ { "text": "Mr. Presiding Justice Kjley\ndelivered the opinion of the court.\nThis is a proceeding to enforce an attorney\u2019s lien (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1951, chap. 13, par. 14) [Jones Ill. Stats. Ann. 9.13] for attorney\u2019s fees and costs of suit on the cause of action brought by the plaintiff in this cause. The trial court dismissed the petition and attorney Sankstone referred to herein as petitioner, has appealed.\nPetitioner\u2019s claim is based on a notice of attorney\u2019s lien served March 30, 1950. Plaintiff sued as a poor person in June 1950, claiming damages for injuries suffered from an assault. The suit was dismissed early in 1951 under a stipulation signed by Herbert Clarke.\nThis proceeding was begun on January 18,1951 by a petition which alleged employment by Herbert Clarke to prosecute his claim against defendants for assault and battery, false arrest and imprisonment; that a complaint was prepared and filed, summons issued and placed in the sheriff\u2019s hands for service; that Clarke was produced for pre-trial examination in the office of defendants\u2019 attorneys; that subsequently a letter was received by petitioner stating that Clarke did not wish to proceed further with the claim; that petitioner was informed that a settlement had been made; and that petitioner had performed valuable services and was entitled to reasonable compensation.\nAttorneys for defendant James Ireland answered that neither they nor the insurance company whom they represented on Ireland\u2019s behalf nor Ireland had paid Clarke cash or other good consideration as a result of Clarke\u2019s suit. Defendants Clem Ireland and William Lewis answered admitting that petitioner performed the services alleged, but denied that they made any settlement with Clarke. They stated that Clarke voluntarily approached Clem Ireland saying he realized that he had no case against defendants and was going to direct his attorneys to dismiss the suit; that Ireland told him he did not care what Clarke did about the claim, upon which Ireland was informed he was not liable; and that no amount of money was paid plaintiff nor any agreement made about dismissal of the suit nor any promise made to pay any consideration.\nThe issue made on the pleadings is whether a settlement was made between Clarke and defendants or any one of them or by anyone on behalf of them or any of them.\nThe notice of lien stated that petitioner had a written agreement for reasonable fees. His testimony was that the agreement was oral. We need not decide the question of the contract for we think the trial court properly dismissed the petition for lack of evidence of a settlement.\nAn attorney\u2019s lien attaches only to the proceeds of litigation or settlement of the claim. Baker v. Baker, 258 Ill. 418. Defendants answer to the petition for enforcing the lien made issue of the allegation that there was a settlement of Clarke\u2019s claim. Implied in the trial court\u2019s decision is a finding that petitioner had not proved by a preponderance of the evidence that there was a settlement made upon which the lien could attach.\nThe question before us is whether the finding is against the manifest weight of evidence. Petitioner testified on the issue of settlement that in two conversations with attorneys for defendant Clem Ireland before trial, there was \u201cno definite response\u201d to a settlement; that attorneys for James Ireland \u201cturned down\u201d consideration of a settlement; that Clarke told petitioner he was approached by Clem Ireland to make a settlement of $500; that an attorney for Clem Ireland told petitioner that Ireland \u201cgave Clarke his job back . . . [and] gave him a settlement\u201d; and that \u201cit wasn\u2019t very much, around $150 if he could recall.\u201d\nWe cannot on the basis of this testimony infer that because Clarke returned to work for defendants that his annual salary and tips are the proceeds of a settlement. Attorney for Clem Ireland, according to petitioner, said that Ireland settled for \u201caround $150 if he could recall.\u201d There is no testimony that Clarke\u2019s return to work was a settlement, nor, do we think that the statement about the $150 is proof of a settlement.\nIn view of our conclusion, Filipiak v. Zintak, 264 Ill. App. 392, is not relevant since there is no settlement here to which a lien based on quantum meruit can attach. In McArdle v. Great American Indemnity Company, 314 Ill. App. 455, the settlement was admitted. We conclude that the finding that a settlement was not properly proved is not against the manifest weight of evidence.\nPetitioner claims that the \u201centry\u201d of the stipulation was a fraud on the superior court clerk or sheriff of Cook County because no provision was made for payment of the costs of suit as required under Clarke\u2019s poor person\u2019s affidavit. This claim falls with our conclusion with reference to the settlement. The judgment on the findings is affirmed.\nJudgment affirmed.\nLews and Feinberg, JJ., concur.", "type": "majority", "author": "Mr. Presiding Justice Kjley" } ], "attorneys": [ "George Yellen, of Chicago, for appellant; George E. Sankstone, of Chicago, fro se.", "Kirkland, Fleming, Green, Martin & Ellis and Bebb and Davis, all of Chicago, for appellees; David Jacker, William L. Ryan, and William H. Symmes, Jr., all of Chicago, of counsel." ], "corrections": "", "head_matter": "Herbert Clarke, Plaintiff Below, v. James H. Ireland and Clem Ireland, Defendants Below, Appellees. George E. Sankstone, Petitioner-Appellant.\nGen. No. 45,708.\nOpinion filed June 18, 1952.\nRehearing denied July 15, 1952.\nReleased for publication July 17, 1952.\nGeorge Yellen, of Chicago, for appellant; George E. Sankstone, of Chicago, fro se.\nKirkland, Fleming, Green, Martin & Ellis and Bebb and Davis, all of Chicago, for appellees; David Jacker, William L. Ryan, and William H. Symmes, Jr., all of Chicago, of counsel." }, "file_name": "0354-01", "first_page_order": 376, "last_page_order": 379 }