Clara Harris loses case against attorney

HOUSTON Jurors sided with Houston attorney George Parnham, saying he did not breach his duty to Clara Harris during her high-profile 2003 murder trial.

The jurors also ruled that Harris should pay Parnham $250 still owed for expenses from the murder trial, $389,443 for the costs of Parnham's attorney during the two-week civil trial and an additional $70.

Harris, 50, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for repeatedly running over her husband, David Harris, 44, with her Mercedes-Benz in a hotel parking lot in 2002 after confronting him with his mistress. The lawsuit claimed Harris hired Parnham for $75,000 but wound up paying more than $235,000.

Harris and Parnham never had a written agreement. Dean Blumrosen, Harris' attorney, said his client was owed between $90,000 and $135,000.

Harris' lawsuit also claimed that Parnham had her sign paperwork he said would help preserve her estate but was really a $300,000 promissory note and security agreement listing her homes and dental practice as collateral.

Parnham denied the allegations. Charles Babcock, who represented Parnham, said Parnham had to take out a $90,000 loan to pay experts, consultants and others who aided in Harris' defense.

A jury last year ordered Clara Harris to pay $3.75 million to her former in-laws in a separate civil case.

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