Belli Concludes Case Against Longtime Foe : Witness Says Lawyer Accused of Malpractice Once Hid Settlement Offer

Noted attorney Melvin Belli on Monday wound up his legal malpractice case against his longtime adversary and fellow lawyer, R. Browne Greene, by presenting a witness who claimed Greene once spoke of hiding a settlement offer from a client because he expected to get more money from a jury.

Richard C. Voorhies, who was one of Greene’s law partners from 1973 through 1979, said Greene once told him a defense lawyer had offered to settle a case but Greene didn’t tell his clients about the offer because he knew he “had the jury” and would get more.

Greene is accused of doing the same thing in a 1981 trial. His actions then are the basis of the civil suit Belli has brought against him on behalf of four plaintiffs, charging legal malpractice.

Voorhies, who said he was fired by Greene and the other partners in the firm, did not say how much the earlier settlement offer amounted to, what sort of case it was or when it took place. But he did say the jury award came to approximately $800,000.

Account Contradicted

Greene quickly took the witness stand to contradict Voorhies’ account, saying he never won a jury award of $800,000 (many of his awards have come to $1 million or more) and never won a case after refusing to relay a settlement offer to a client.

Greene said he and other partners in the firm fired Voorhies because he had become “gun shy” as a trial lawyer, refusing to face a jury in trials and becoming jealous of lawyers in the firm who did go to trial and win verdicts on behalf of people injured in accidents.

Greene’s current trial in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana is the result of a 1981 trial in Los Angeles Superior Court in which a jury ruled in favor of the Ford Motor Co. and against Greene’s clients--a Latino and three Mexican nationals who were injured in a 1976 accident in Pomona.

Truck Caught Fire

A pickup truck driven by Ventura Munoz Flores overturned and caught fire in the accident, injuring him, Maria Dolores Ornelas and Faviola Castro, of Santa Ana. Ornelas’ 9-day-old son was killed in the crash and the child’s father, Jose Munoz Flores, joined in the suit against Ford.

The jury verdict exonerating the auto maker came after the defense offered the four $2 million to settle the case. Greene said his clients rejected the offer on his advice, but Belli contended the four were never told of Ford’s willingness to settle.

Belli is representing the four in their suit against Greene, which seeks $2 million, plus $845,000 in interest and $10 million in punitive damages.

Closing arguments in the trial, which began three weeks ago, are expected today, with jury deliberations to follow.

Complained to Partner

Voorhies testified that he “yelled and screamed” about Greene’s refusal to tell his clients about the settlement offer in the earlier case. He said he complained to another partner in the firm that “I was upset about it, that it would get us in trouble some time.”

On cross-examination, Voorhies said he and his wife filed a civil lawsuit against Greene and other members of the former firm after he was fired in 1979. Greene said the suit is currently being settled out of court and was a dispute over money and property.

Greene’s public clashes with Belli date back to 1981, when the two men vied to see who would represent a woman injured in a movie stunt. They tangled later when Belli supported Greene’s opponent in a race for president of the California Trial Lawyers’ Assn. Belli’s choice won.

The opportunity to watch Belli, a lawyer with more than four decades of trial experience in the state, square off against Greene has brought capacity crowds to the courtroom daily, with latecomers waiting in the hall outside for spectators inside to leave and yield a seat.