Photo: Maryna Pleshkun/Shutterstock.comJury: NY Firm On Hook for $1.5M in Asbestos Litigation Fees
A federal jury in Maryland found in favor of the Maryland-based Keyes Law Firm, which alleged lawyers from New York firm Napoli Bern Ripka Shkolnik stopped paying referral fees after they split their practices.
December 26, 2019 at 01:15 PM
3 minute read
A New York firm sued over referral fees for asbestos litigation owes $1.5 million to plaintiff Keyes Law Firm, according to a judgment entered last week in Maryland federal court.
After an eight-day trial, a jury on Dec. 19 reached a verdict in favor of Maryland-based Keyes Law Firm and against defendants Paul Napoli and his law firms.
U.S. District Judge Richard Bennett of the District of Maryland ordered the defendants to pay a $1.8 million surety bond by noon Dec. 23, and the judgment was stayed pending their appeal.
"The decision against Napoli Bern by a jury has no basis in fact or law," said Timothy Lynch of Offit Kurman, who represented Napoli Bern along with Harold Walter, Meghan Finnerty and Eric Pelletier. "The court's errors of law tainted the factual process which make this decision ripe for reversal on appeal."
Mary Keyes of Keyes Law Firm filed a complaint against Napoli Bern Ripka Shkolnik in October 2017, alleging that a third-party bankruptcy firm began referring clients with asbestos-related claims to Keyes, and a solo practitioner reached out to the firm to inquire about Keyes referring cases to Napoli Bern Ripka Shkolnik.
Keyes said that between 2012 to 2014, the bankruptcy firm referred 2,174 clients to Keyes, which it entered into "association agreements" with Napoli Bern Ripka Shkolnik. Under those agreements, each firm would be awarded a share of the fees.
But Napoli and lawyer Marc Bern decided to split their practices in 2014 and founded new, separate firms. Keyes alleged in its complaint that distributing the referred asbestos cases among the new firms resulted in "sporadic and partial" payments from Napoli and Bern to Keyes, which stopped altogether in 2016, according to a memorandum opinion filed last year.
Court records show Bern was dismissed from the case with prejudice earlier this month after reaching a resolution with Keyes.
Bern, reached Thursday, referred a request for comment to his personal lawyer, Clifford Robert of Robert & Robert. "After a jury trial, the verdict is clear: this has nothing to do with Marc Bern," Robert said.
Kramon & Graham is representing the plaintiff. Keyes also worked with Duane Morris.
Napoli and Keyes did not immediately respond to requests for comment. John Bourgeois of Kramon & Graham also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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