A Lauderhill lawyer is battling his former bosses in court over a hefty prize: a $1.2 million referral fee for a successful whistleblower case.

Normally, such disputes don’t escalate to legal action — they’re decided by employment contracts between firms and their employees. But South Florida firm Frank Weinberg & Black made no written agreement with Steven Katz about who would be entitled to referral fees after he left the firm in 2013.