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After a two-week trial, a Los Angeles County jury awarded Bienert Katzman Littrell Williams LLP's client $1.7 million in a legal malpractice case.

Founding partner Thomas H. Bienert, Jr. and the BKLW team represented Peggy Rinella in her claims against Paul Stabile and Michael Mastrovito that arose out of their representation of her in a malpractice action against "holistic dentists" who had removed part of Rinella's jaw and 12 of her teeth.  The dental malpractice case settled for $300,000, and Rinella sued Stabile and Mastrovito for legal malpractice, constructive fraud, negligent misrepresentation, negligence, and breach of fiduciary duty following her post-settlement discovery that Mastrovito was a disbarred attorney with a criminal history. 

Stabile and Mastrovito represented themselves during trial, which lasted approximately 2 weeks.  Tom successfully convinced the jury that, among other things, Mastrovito engaged in the unauthorized practice of law and that Stabile aided and abetted him in doing so, Stabile acted to mislead Rinella, and Stabile breached his duty as an attorney to protect Rinella's interest. 

In June 2008, the jury returned special verdicts awarding Rinella past and future economic and noneconomic damages against Stabile and Mastrovito in the amounts of $180,000 and $177,500, respectively, and $700,000 in punitive damages against each defendant.   

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Thomas H. Bienert, Jr.

Thomas H. Bienert, Jr.

Thomas H. Bienert, Jr. is widely recognized as one of the nation’s best trial attorneys.  After spending ten years as a federal prosecutor and two years at a national law firm, Tom founded this firm in 2000 and steadily grew it to its current size through the addition of other […]

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