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Iowa couple appeals ruling to pay lawyer $2.18M more

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April 6th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa couple is appealing a judge’s order to pay a lawyer $2.18 million more for representing them in talks that resulted in a $7.5 million settlement with Sioux City. The Sioux City Journal reports that Chad and Rosanne Plante, of Hinton, filed notice of the appeal earlier this week.

District Judge Nancy Whittenburg ruled last month that attorney Stan Munger’s contingency fee contract with the Plantes was “reasonable and valid.” She found that Munger was entitled to receive 33 percent of the settlement the city paid the Plantes to resolve claims from a 2016 bus crash that caused serious injuries to Chad Plante.

The Plantes authorized Munger to withdraw only $380,000 from the settlement, arguing that the contingency fee agreement was “against public policy.”