Rodney King’s Lawyers Still Battling

The two attorneys sat on the winning side of one of the most controversial lawsuits in California history, Rodney King’s $3.8-million civil rights violation judgment in 1994. But on Thursday, only one of them had reason to celebrate.

An Orange County judge rejected a lawsuit by Oakland lawyer John L. Burris seeking $160,000 for breach of contract against Milton Grimes.

Grimes, Burris and a dozen other attorneys represented King in the 1994 federal lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles following King’s videotaped beating by police officers. The attorneys have since been entangled in legal battles over their compensation.

In 1995, the federal judge in King’s case ordered Los Angeles to pay the attorneys $1.6 million in fees. Grimes, who has an office in Newport Beach, ended up with the largest share, $456,000.

Burris received about $320,000 but later said he had a contract with Grimes that called for additional compensation. Federico Sayre of Newport Beach, another attorney who represented King, filed a similar lawsuit against Grimes.

“I don’t owe them any money,” Grimes said Thursday. “They got greedy because I made more money than they did. But I deserved it. This vindicates me,” he said of Thursday’s ruling by Superior Court Judge Raymond Ikola.

Sayre, who represented Burris in his case against Grimes, said he will file an appeal.

“I think the judge overstepped his bounds,” Sayre said. “It is one thing to decide that a contract is not enforceable. . . . But the law provides” for just compensation for services rendered.

Sayre said he and Burris had similar contracts with Grimes that called for Grimes to compensate the lawyers if their court-ordered fees did not match their billings. Another Orange County judge ruled in 1997 that Sayre’s contract with Grimes was valid.

Grimes and Sayre go to arbitration Jan. 4 to settle on the exact amount. Grimes’ full compensation from the King case was close to $1.4 million, including a share of the jury’s award to King, Sayre said.