The Dog Ate My Legal Bill: One Law Firm's Collection Nightmare
Most legal fee collection suits are pretty humdrum. Then there's Kent, Beatty & Gordon's suit against Ted Owen.
December 17, 2019 at 02:17 PM
3 minute read
No one goes into the practice of law dreaming of chasing down clients for unpaid legal bills.
But that's what dominated discussions in the past year between New York firm Kent, Beatty & Gordon and former client Theodore B. Owen, according to a lawsuit the firm filed Tuesday against Owen, seeking nearly $190,000 in legal fees.
While many law firms have sued clients for unpaid fees, the firm's collection suit stands out for its lengthy documentation of all the excuses that Owen allegedly used. Owen is an esports businessman whose legal tussles with his landlady landed on Page Six.
"Owen … represented on various occasions that Owen (a) was selling bitcoin, (b) had received a large inheritance check, (c) sold 'offshore assets' and (d) sold a $5,000,000 investment so as to make all of his payables current," said the firm's suit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.
The firm went on to list a chronology of Owen's alleged excuses that stretched on for two pages. According to the firm, Owen or someone at his company, Dead Waltons LLC, gave the following excuses over the course of 2019:
- On Jan. 16, "if the money is not already there, it should be tomorrow."
- On the morning of Jan. 29, "Your money should arrive today."
- On the evening of Jan. 29, "It should be there."
- On Saturday, Feb. 2, "Friday."
- On Thursday, Feb. 7, "I said Friday."
- On Feb. 11, "Jack, you get paid this week."
- On Feb. 23, "Listen I have money … no games just settle down."
- On Mar. 1, "Thanks it will be done."
- On Mar. 25, "Money … will go out tomorrow am."
- In response to an April 10 email, "Please be a little more patient."
- In an April 16 email, "destroying my reputation is not the way to go about getting this resolved. I am going to oay [sic] you."
- Upon being confronted with a $100,000 invoice May 1, "Tuesday I can make a dent … it won't be all of it but a nice dent."
"Notwithstanding these and many, many other promises made by Owen … each and every one of the above-referenced dates passed without even partial payment from defendants," the suit said.
Jonathon Warner of the firm Warner & Scheuerman, who replaced Kent Beatty in one of Owen's lawsuits, said Monday afternoon that he'd ask his client if he wanted to comment. Nothing was heard as of press time Tuesday.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllAmid Ripple of Marketing Moves, Paul Hastings Hires 2 Pros From Skadden
2 minute readTrump Win Ignites Global Legal Market: Lawyers Prepare for High Demand & Uncertainty
Trending Stories
- 1Will the 9th Circuit Still be Center Stage in Trump Policy Challenges?
- 2Obtaining Reimbursement from Medicaid
- 3NY Requiring Lawyers to Report Out-of-State Admissions, Public Discipline
- 4Man Hits Cow in Case That Tests 'Unrealistic Delivery Times'
- 5DC Judge, Applying 'Loper Bright,' Dismisses Complaint in Medicare Drug-Classification Dispute
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250