$1.9-Million Judgment Against Lawyer Upheld

A Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner upheld a $1.9-million default judgment Thursday against former civil rights attorney A. Thomas Hunt for failing to appear in court for his client.

Hunt asked Commissioner Emilie H. Elias to dismiss the judgment won against him by Howard Bennett in 1995, saying that he was never properly served with the summons and complaint and that he only learned of the suit in early 1996.

Hunt, now a paralegal in Culver City, represented himself and told the court he was prevented from hearing about the summons because of pending criminal charges and because there were technical deficiencies in obtaining the default judgment.

But Commissioner Elias said court documents proved he admitted to knowing about the case and waited too long to file a motion to dismiss the judgment.

In 1995, Bennett, 68, was awarded civil damages against Hunt for malpractice, including Hunt’s failure to show up in court after he was paid $6,000 in attorney’s fees. Bennett said Hunt had failed to mention that he had resigned from the State Bar. Bennett, who is the founder of Heal the Bay, had hired Hunt in 1992 to sue the Culver City School District for age discrimination and for removing him from his teaching position.

Bennett said he would distribute the $1.9 million to more than 130 others who said they were defrauded by Hunt.