Key Facts
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| fact_id ▼ | filing_id | fact |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 1 | Pohl is a lawyer who represented persons in motor vehicle accident claims and BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill claims |
| 2 | 1 1 | Precision Marketing Group, LLC provided public relations, evidence gathering, and client liaison services for Pohl |
| 3 | 1 1 | Precision gained access to confidential information about up to 10,000 or more of Pohl's clients/prospective clients |
| 4 | 1 1 | The confidential information included client identities, contact information, fee agreements, specialized legal forms, proprietary administrative forms, internal emails, and marketing information |
| 5 | 1 1 | A prior federal lawsuit (Scott Walker, et al. v. Jimmy Williamson, et al., No. 1:14-cv-381-KS-JCG) was resolved by the Confidential Settlement Agreement in late April/early May 2017 |
| 6 | 1 1 | The Settlement Agreement required return of all documents concerning Pohl's clients and deletion of all ESI |
| 7 | 1 1 | Nicholson served dual roles: counsel for Favre/Precision in the settlement and co-counsel with Kassab/Montague in claims against Pohl |
| 8 | 1 1 | Favre and others stole physical copies, Pohl's computers, and misappropriated electronic data |
| 9 | 1 1 | Favre secretly sold the stolen information to Kassab and Montague for $250,000 in cash plus substantial bonuses |
| 10 | 1 1 | Kassab and Montague knew the information was stolen |
| 11 | 1 1 | Kassab used the stolen information to solicit Pohl's clients and bring barratry and other cases against Pohl |
| 12 | 1 1 | Kassab specializes in suing other lawyers and has worked with Montague in this connection in the past |
| 13 | 1 1 | Pohl timely and fully performed the Settlement Agreement |
| 14 | 1 1 | Filing attorney: Jean C. Frizzell, Reynolds Frizzell LLP, Houston, Texas |
| 15 | 2 2 | Lance Christopher Kassab is a lawyer practicing plaintiffs' legal malpractice law in Houston, Texas through Kassab, P.C. |
| 16 | 2 2 | Michael A. Pohl is described as an individual lawyer residing in Colorado |
| 17 | 2 2 | Kassab filed four lawsuits on behalf of over 400 clients against Pohl in four different courts in Harris County |
| 18 | 2 2 | The main allegations against Pohl are civil barratry and conspiracy to commit barratry, a third-degree felony in Texas |
| 19 | 2 2 | Pohl conspired with his wife Donalda Pohl ('Dona'), paralegal Edgar Jaimes, and three Mississippi runners (Walker, Seymour, Ladner) |
| 20 | 2 2 | Dona owns Helping Hands Financing, LLC ('HH Texas'); Jaimes runs its day-to-day operations |
| 21 | 2 2 | Walker, Seymour, and Ladner owned Precision Marketing Group, Helping Hands Group, and Helping Hands Financial |
| 22 | 2 2 | For BP claims, runners went door-to-door soliciting; Precision paid runners $300-$400 per client; Pohl paid Precision up to $1,500 per client |
| 23 | 2 2 | Pohl offered runners a percentage of legal fees disguised as $1,500/hour rate |
| 24 | 2 2 | For auto accidents, Pohl monitored Google Alerts for crashes and dispatched runners to hospitals, homes, and funerals |
| 25 | 2 2 | For auto accidents, Pohl paid runners up to $7,500 per client plus 33% of attorney's fees on the back end |
| 26 | 2 2 | HH Texas paid HH Mississippi $2,500 per referral as an additional layer between Pohl and runners |
| 27 | 2 2 | Helping Hands offered money to victims conditioned on signing contracts allowing attorney selection (always Pohl) |
| 28 | 2 2 | Pohl created the 'GM Settlement Verification Team' to impersonate a GM entity and solicit ignition recall victims |
| 29 | 2 2 | Over $5 million in 'barratry pass-through money' paid to Walker, Ladner, and Precision |
| 30 | 2 2 | Magdalena Santana was paid $5,000 per case plus fee percentage; was told minorities 'were easier to sign up' |
| 31 | 2 2 | Pohl paid Santana $50,000 cash in 'trick or treat' bags to sign gag agreement; Santana felt 'under duress' |
| 32 | 2 2 | Kenneth Talley solicited 800+ BP claims and 20+ auto accident cases; paid $1,400 plus expenses per auto case |
| 33 | 2 2 | Talley carried blank Pohl contracts; both he and Pohl knew solicitation was illegal |
| 34 | 2 2 | Walker was indicted and imprisoned; Pohl then refused to pay runners promised fees |
| 35 | 2 2 | Walker and others filed federal suit in Mississippi (Federal Litigation) against Pohl claiming millions in promised fees |
| 36 | 2 2 | Over 400 solicited clients contacted Kassab and requested representation against Pohl |
| 37 | 2 2 | Kassab filed grievances against Pohl with the Texas State Bar pursuant to Rule 8.03 |
| 38 | 2 2 | Kassab has 150 assigned barratry claims as of filing date with remaining claims to be filed by November 7, 2018 |
| 39 | 2 2 | Attorneys for Kassab: Lance Christopher Kassab (Bar No. 00794070) and David Eric Kassab (Bar No. 24071351) |
| 40 | 3 3 | Pohl was introduced to Walker, Maxwell, Robinson, and Seymour in April 2012 and Ladner approximately six to eight weeks later |
| 41 | 3 3 | Robinson's father-in-law was described as a prominent local attorney who advised the PR Consultants' group |
| 42 | 3 3 | Robinson withdrew July 15, 2012; remaining group (Walker, Seymour, Ladner) became 'PR Consultants' |
| 43 | 3 3 | Pohl initially contracted with Maxwell-Walker for exclusive public relations and client liaison services for BP claims |
| 44 | 3 3 | Contracts provided for hourly fees and retainer capped at 21% of LOMAP's 40% interest in BP representation |
| 45 | 3 3 | Precision Marketing Group succeeded Maxwell-Walker in January 2013 |
| 46 | 3 3 | PR Consultants were supposed to provide exclusive services to Pohl but secretly diverted hundreds of claimants to competing attorneys |
| 47 | 3 3 | PR Consultants were primarily supposed to run information booths at public events (boat shows, festivals) and answer follow-up calls |
| 48 | 3 3 | PR Consultants sent falsified invoices with PAID stamps predating preparation dates; systematically overcharged Pohl |
| 49 | 3 3 | PR Consultants charged up to $1,000/week in fictitious 'miscellaneous marketing' expenses from approximately March 2013 through September 2013 |
| 50 | 3 3 | Walker admitted the 'miscellaneous marketing' charges were not truthful when confronted |
| 51 | 3 3 | PR Consultants marketed their services to competing attorneys while Pohl paid their overhead |
| 52 | 3 3 | Ladner absconded with 17 containers of client files from Pohl's satellite office, later delivered to Favre |
| 53 | 3 3 | PR Consultants and Nicholson refused to return four computers purchased by Pohl |
| 54 | 3 3 | Files were delivered to Favre without Pohl's consent; Favre purchased them despite being told they were stolen |
| 55 | 3 3 | It appears Kassab eventually purchased the stolen materials from Favre |
| 56 | 3 3 | After BP activity halted in spring 2013, Pohl retained PR Consultants for rollover/auto defect cases |
| 57 | 3 3 | Pohl closed his Mississippi satellite office in February 2014 |
| 58 | 3 3 | Julia Porter and Monica Chaney operated an unauthorized website using Pohl's name; Pohl sent cease and desist letters |
| 59 | 3 3 | Jacqueline Taylor's statement suggests Porter/Chaney may have been associated with PR Consultants |
| 60 | 3 3 | Christopher Forrest appeared in May 2017 with a Pohl fee agreement — over 3 years after BP claims closed |
| 61 | 3 3 | Pohl's 60/40 fee split with Williamson was consistent with Texas law, with flexibility based on actual contribution |
| 62 | 3 3 | In some instances, Pohl received no fee at all on a BP claim |
| 63 | 3 3 | Affidavit sworn June 19, 2018 in Montgomery County, Texas |
| 64 | 3 3 | In the Federal Court Lawsuit, PR Consultants alleged hourly-rate basis and denied entitlement to percentage of fees |
| 65 | 4 4 | F. Douglas Montague III is a nonresident individual from Hattiesburg, Mississippi |
| 66 | 4 4 | Montague Pittman & Varnado, P.A. is a nonresident professional association in Mississippi |
| 67 | 4 4 | Montague Defendants had no attorney-client relationship with Pohl |
| 68 | 4 4 | Montague Defendants were not parties to the underlying Pohl-Favre-Precision litigation or settlement agreement |
| 69 | 4 4 | Montague Defendants are represented by Martin, Disiere, Jefferson & Wisdom, L.L.P. (Dale Jefferson, Bar No. 10607900; Raul H. Suazo, Bar No. 24003021; Kevin G. Cain, Bar No. 24012371), 808 Travis Street, 20th Floor, Houston, Texas 77002 |
| 70 | 4 4 | Pohl represented by Jean C. Frizzell, Reynolds Frizzell LLP (per certificate of service) |
| 71 | 5 5 | Deposition taken on May 15, 2018 in the Cheatham case (Cause No. 2017-41110), not the Pohl v. Kassab case |
| 72 | 5 5 | Only pages 85-93 and 318-319 included in this exhibit |
| 73 | 5 5 | Lance Kassab examined Pohl for 5 hours and 59 minutes (total deposition 9:26 a.m. to 5:05 p.m.) |
| 74 | 5 5 | Also present: Billy Shepherd (attorney for Pohl, 0 minutes used), Brock Akers (attorney for Robert Ammons/Ammons Law Firm, 0 minutes used), Mark Collmer (attorney for Donalda Pohl, 0 minutes used) |
| 75 | 5 5 | Pohl accused Kassab and his 'crew' of stealing files, robbing his office, hacking computers, and soliciting clients with lies |
| 76 | 5 5 | Pohl clarified he was not a personal witness to the break-in: 'I wasn't there' |
| 77 | 5 5 | Pohl could not identify a specific date for the alleged theft, placing it around 2014 continuing into 2015-2016 |
| 78 | 5 5 | The alleged theft was at Pohl's Gulfport, Mississippi office and occurred in connection with its closing |
| 79 | 5 5 | Pohl never filed any police report, grievance, or contacted any law enforcement (other than an informal conversation with a retired Oklahoma DA) |
| 80 | 5 5 | Pohl said the events didn't occur in Texas as reason for not contacting Harris County DA |
| 81 | 5 5 | Pohl accused Favre of paying $85,000 to fund the robbery and additional money to hack computers and sell passwords |
| 82 | 5 5 | Pohl identified the alleged perpetrators as Kassab, Nicholson, Montague, June Allison, Ladner, Walker, and Favre |
| 83 | 5 5 | The Cheatham case involves wrongful death claims by family of LaDonna Cheatham, Destiny Cheatham, and Markus Cheatham |
| 84 | 5 5 | Defendants in Cheatham case included Pohl, Donalda Pohl, Law Office of Michael Pohl PLLC, Robert Ammons, and The Ammons Law Firm LLP |
| 85 | 5 5 | Reporter: Laurie Carlisle, CSR, Texas CSR 2205, Omni Litigation, 832 Tulane Street, Houston, Texas 77007 |
| 86 | 6 6 | Filed by Kassab pursuant to Rule 8.03(a) on behalf of approximately 10,000 alleged victims along the Gulf Coast |
| 87 | 6 6 | Kassab Law Firm address: 1420 Alabama, Houston, Texas 77004 |
| 88 | 6 6 | Pohl's address: 2254 Stratton Forest Heights, Colorado Springs, CO 80906 |
| 89 | 6 6 | Companion grievance No. 201801826 filed against Cyndi Rusnak |
| 90 | 6 6 | Pohl, Williamson (now deceased), and Rusnak formed a joint venture to commit barratry beginning approximately April 2012 |
| 91 | 6 6 | Williamson and Rusnak practiced under trade name 'Williamson & Rusnak' |
| 92 | 6 6 | Fee split: 40% to Pohl, 60% to Williamson and Rusnak (split based on resources contributed) |
| 93 | 6 6 | Runners hired: Walker and Seymour (April/May 2012), Ladner (July 2012 after Robinson withdrew) |
| 94 | 6 6 | Dane Maxwell and CMV Investigations hired in early May 2012; paid $1,000/client; total up to $2.47 million |
| 95 | 6 6 | May 25, 2012 agreement: 30% of Pohl's 40% (12% Walker, 12% Seymour, 6% Robinson) |
| 96 | 6 6 | July 15, 2012 agreement: 22.5% to Ladner/Walker/Seymour (7.5% each) |
| 97 | 6 6 | The Lawyers paid roughly $5 million total in 'barratry pass-through money' |
| 98 | 6 6 | Walker admitted it was barratry; barratry pyramid: CMV $1,000 → mid-level $100-$250 → low-level $20-$30 |
| 99 | 6 6 | Jacqueline Taylor: recruited via Boykin/CMV/Monica Chaney, paid $20-$30/client via Wal-Mart cash cards, solicited 100+ clients |
| 100 | 6 6 | Magdalena Santana: recruited by Seymour July 2012, paid $250/claim through Precision, solicited approximately 1,500 cases total, 77 first week |
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CREATE TABLE key_facts (
fact_id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
filing_id INTEGER REFERENCES filings(filing_id),
fact TEXT
);