Conn. Man Claims NJ Firm Withholding Share of $1.3M in Daughter's Death
Eric Jordan has filed a federal lawsuit against a New Jersey law firm claiming it has not paid him the $336,877 wrongful death settlement he is due related to his daughter's death.
March 23, 2018 at 03:07 PM
4 minute read
A Connecticut man has filed a civil theft suit against a New Jersey law firm, alleging it never paid him $336,877 from a wrongful death settlement involving his daughter, Erica.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Connecticut, alleges Newark-based Hunt, Hamlin & Ridley paid Erica's mother her $336,877 share of the settlement. The other half, which 54-year-old Eric Jordan claims is his, has not been released.
Erica's mother, Nickola Glover-Jordan, separated from Jordan, who until recently was homeless, before the girl's death in January 2013. The lawsuit claims the firm is withholding the money “in violation of not just common law, but also [the] Rules of Professional Conduct that control[] conduct of attorneys and law firms such as the defendants.”
Erica was a pedestrian in July 2012 when she was struck by a PSE&G truck in Paterson, New Jersey. Her mother was appointed administratrix of the estate, and a lawsuit was filed against the driver and St. Joseph's Hospital soon after the girl died.
The lawsuit states that Erica, 17, was taken to the emergency room complaining of an inability to breathe six months after the accident. She died at the hospital due to a collapsed lung.
Glover-Jordan retained Hunt Hamlin to pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital and a negligence action against PSE&G and its driver, Christopher Duda.
The lawsuit was settled in the first half of 2017 for nearly $1.3 million, of which $673,754 was to be shared by the parents.
At some point in the summer of 2017, the lawsuit states, the law firm requested to meet with Jordan. At the time, the girl's mother said another man was the father, but DNA tests showed that was not the case.
The lawsuit claims there were numerous delays by Hunt Hamlin in getting back to Jordan's attorney even after the DNA tests showed he was the father.
On March 13, the lawsuit states, Jordan's attorney, Kevin Dehghani of Dehghani & Associates in New Haven, reached out to Hunt Hamlin by fax, email and certified mail demanding the firm release Jordan's share of the settlement by close of business on March 16. The New Jersey firm never responded.
Dehghani told the Connecticut Law Tribune that he did hear from Hunt Hamlin Friday morning and was told he'd be getting an email letter on the matter soon.
According to Dehghani, Jordan owes no alimony or child support to Glover-Jordan.
“There has been no reason beyond the initial reasons cited in the complaint [such as the DNA matter] that have since been cleared up, for my client to have not received his portion of the settlement,” Dehghani said. “I'm not aware of a valid defense for my client not getting his money.”
The lawsuit names Hunt Hamlin and partners Raymond Hamlin, Ronald Hunt, and Kenyatta Stewart. The law firm had not assigned an attorney to the case as of Friday. The three attorneys did not respond to a request for comment. Glover-Jordan could not be reached for comment.
The lawsuit includes claims for civil theft, conversion and violation of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act.
The lawsuit requests a preliminary injunction ordering Hunt Hamlin to “cease and desist from appropriating any portion of the plaintiff's funds that they hold to themselves to any other party.”
The case will be heard by Judge Victor A. Bolden, who is based in Bridgeport.
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