Filing Sections
Data license: Public court records
8 rows where filing_id = 33
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| section_id ▼ | filing_id | heading | summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 249 | 33 33 | Qualifications and Background (¶¶ 1-3) | Kassab is a Texas-licensed attorney since 1995, born March 12, 1961, with business address at 1214 Elgin Street, Houston, Texas 77004. He graduated law school with honors and was editor-in-chief of Law Review. Licensed before the U.S. Supreme Court, Fifth Circuit, and U.S. District Courts for the Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas. Former briefing attorney for the First Judicial District Court of Appeals in Houston and former intern for the Texas Supreme Court and the First Judicial District Court of Appeals. Has handled approximately 2,300 legal malpractice cases over 25+ years, the vast majority on the plaintiff's side, though he has also handled defense. Has handled cases across Texas and in California, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, Arkansas, Colorado, Virginia, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida and Mississippi. |
| 250 | 33 33 | Prior Association with Montague (¶ 4) | Kassab is owner of Lance Christopher Kassab, PC d/b/a The Kassab Law Firm. He previously associated with Hattiesburg attorney F. Douglas Montague as co-counsel in lawsuits against John O'Quinn filed on behalf of more than a thousand of O'Quinn's former silicosis clients. That litigation was filed in 2011 and litigated through 2015. Communications between Kassab's office and Montague's office concerning that litigation are privileged under attorney-client and work product privileges and confidential under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct. |
| 251 | 33 33 | Discovery of Mississippi Litigation (¶¶ 5-6) | In fall 2014, Montague notified Kassab of litigation filed against Pohl in Mississippi (Cause No. 1:14-cv-381-KS-JCG, Walker et al. v. Williamson et al., U.S. District Court, Southern District of Mississippi, Southern Division). The Mississippi Litigation was filed by Scott Walker, Kirk Ladner, and Steve Seymore, then-owners of Precision Marketing Group, LLC. They alleged Pohl hired Precision Marketing to find and solicit clients for referral to Pohl in exchange for a percentage of fees and a sum certain per client. Precision Marketing acquired thousands of BP Deepwater Horizon clients and numerous auto accident cases for Pohl, then sued claiming Pohl breached the agreement by refusing to pay. Kassab obtained information from PACER, met with Scott Favre (who became owner of Precision Marketing through purchase agreements with prior owners), and concluded solicited clients had potential civil barratry claims under Section 82.0651 of the Texas Government Code. |
| 252 | 33 33 | Joint Venture Formation (¶ 7) | On November 11, 2016, Kassab entered a joint venture agreement with Montague and Tina Nicholson to pursue causes of action against Pohl and others for civil barratry. Exhibit A is the joint venture agreement letter. The agreement specifies: Kassab to send solicitation letters, sign up clients, draft petitions, do bulk of motion work, litigate and try cases, and front 50% of expenses. Montague to help manage clients, strategy, litigation, second chair at trial, and front 50% of expenses. Baker (Nicholson) to help manage clients, strategize, participate in filing suits in other states, and provide previously prepared solicitation letter templates complying with each state's ethics rules. Fee split: 50% Kassab, 40% Montague, 10% Baker (with 50/25/25 split for cases where Baker assumes lead counsel). |
| 253 | 33 33 | Source of Information (¶¶ 8-9) | Favre and his counsel Nicholson provided Kassab with information from Precision Marketing's files, including names and addresses of Pohl's former clients or prospective clients, prior to Favre's settlement of the Mississippi Litigation with Pohl. Kassab understood the information belonged to Precision Marketing based on purchase and sale agreements where Walker, Ladner, and Seymore stated they owned all Precision Marketing assets (documents, computers, computer files, client lists, etc.) and sold them all to Favre. Kassab did not know the information was allegedly acquired from Pohl by improper means or misappropriated by anyone. He had reviewed agreements indicating the former owners had sold, conveyed, or transferred all documents, lists, marketing materials, and assets to Favre and/or his companies. |
| 254 | 33 33 | Advertisement and Client Solicitation (¶¶ 10-11) | Pursuant to the joint venture, Kassab sent advertisement letters to Precision Marketing's clients informing them they may have been barratry victims, that barratry is illegal and unethical in Texas, and that victims would be entitled to file civil claims against Pohl. Letters were submitted to the Texas State Bar and bars of other states for approval. Literally hundreds responded indicating they had been personally solicited to hire Pohl in auto accident or BP claims. Beginning at least by February 2017, Kassab's firm and the firms of Montague and Nicholson entered contracts with more than 400 individuals. Exhibit B contains sample contracts for the four lead plaintiffs. |
| 255 | 33 33 | The Four Barratry Lawsuits (¶¶ 12-14) | Four lawsuits filed pursuant to the joint venture: (1) Berry — filed June 5, 2017, 7 plaintiffs alleged to have been solicited for auto accident claims, settled December 2019 with Pohl paying a substantial sum; (2) Cheatham — filed June 20, 2017, 4 plaintiffs solicited for auto accident claims, initially dismissed on summary judgment but reversed on appeal August 30, 2022 (Cheatham v. Pohl, No. 01-20-00046-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 6528), case ongoing; (3) Brumfield — filed June 8, 2017, approximately 62 plaintiffs solicited for BP claims, dismissed on limitations (Brumfield v. Williamson, 634 S.W.3d 170, Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2021, pet. denied), affirmed on appeal May 27, 2021, Texas Supreme Court denied review January 28, 2022; (4) Gandy — filed October 16, 2017, approximately 135 plaintiffs solicited for BP claims, dismissed on limitations (Gandy v. Williamson, 634 S.W.3d 214, Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2021, pet. denied). Pohl filed this lawsuit August 28, 2018 while barratry litigation was ongoing. |
| 256 | 33 33 | Privilege Assertions (¶¶ 15-16) | Communications between Kassab, Montague, and Nicholson are work product because Kassab anticipated litigation against Pohl no later than January 2015 — Montague and Kassab started discussing litigation in late 2014 and circulated a joint venture agreement by January 15, 2015. Nicholson was brought in because she was licensed in many gulf states where they contemplated filing lawsuits. Communications with barratry clients are protected by attorney-client and work product privileges and confidential under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct. Internal work product consists of mental impressions, opinions, conclusions, notes, and legal theories concerning the Barratry Litigation. |
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CREATE TABLE filing_sections (
section_id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
filing_id INTEGER REFERENCES filings(filing_id),
heading TEXT,
summary TEXT
);