- 50 -
In the interim, Mr. Huestis assisted the Thompsons in
locating and interviewing Mr. DeCastro to serve as their counsel
in the Tax Court.29 On November 15, 1986, Mr. Thompson and
Mr. DeCastro's associate, Phillip Hoskins, executed a retainer
agreement under which Mr. Thompson agreed to pay Mr. DeCastro
$5,000 for his effort to negotiate a settlement of the Thompson
tax cases. The agreement provided that the retainer fee was
limited to settlement negotiations and did not include
preparation for or representation at trial. In early January
1987, Mr. DeCastro filed an entry of appearance in the Thompson
cases.
2. The Test Cases
On November 7, 1986, Mr. Seery filed a motion to change
the place of trial of the test cases from Maui to Honolulu.
Mr. Seery asserted that a trial in Maui would be inconvenient and
a hardship to Mr. Kersting, who lived and operated a business in
Honolulu. Mr. Seery's motion included the statement that
4. Mr. Kersting is providing the financial
support for the litigation of this and the related
cases and the additional expense involved in
transporting witnesses and staff to Wailuku as well
as paying for accommodations for the staff while in
Wailuku is a great financial burden to him.
On November 14, 1986, the Court issued an order denying
Mr. Seery's motion to change the place of trial. In so doing,
29 Mr. Huestis had initially referred the Thompsons to a
law firm, Loeb & Loeb, in Los Angeles, California. The Loeb firm
declined to represent the Thompsons because of the short time to
prepare for the Maui session and the incompleteness of the
Thompson files.
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