Portland Business Journal | By Elizabeth Hayes | December 8, 2022
For Michael Fuller, one verdict stands out among his five cases that went to trial in 2022. It wasn’t an eye-popping dollar amount, nor was the client high profile or the judgment precedent setting.
But Rebekkah Krech vs. PacifiCap Management Inc. goes to the heart of the “underdog law” for which Fuller named his practice. Krech, a single mom on a fixed income, alleged that her former landlord violated three different rental deposit laws.
The jury awarded the maximum statutory damages allowed: $1,250.
Fuller, who started a pro bono tenant clinic two years ago in response to an unmet need, did not charge Krech for his services (though he was awarded attorney’s fees). That the case even went to a jury trial was surprising, given the amount in dispute.
“It would have been easy to settle without them admitting they did anything wrong, but we didn’t,” Fuller said. “We stuck it out. A lot of lawyers will go to trial over a lot of money, but not many will go over a small amount. We got our justice. That’s why I became a lawyer. I didn’t know people who owned big corporations. The people I knew were complaining about the nickel-and-dime s—.”
