Two Houston Plaintiffs Firms Sued For More than $1.4M
Houston Medical Group sued Houston firms Bowers Law Group and JMR Law Group of Houston, alleging they failed to reimburse it for providing medical treatment to the firms' clients.
November 30, 2018 at 05:02 PM
3 minute read
Two Houston plaintiffs firms have been sued by a medical provider that alleges the firms failed to pay it more than $1.4 million for medical treatment provided to the firms' personal injury clients.
Houston Medical Group alleges Bowers Law Group and JMW Law Group settled personal injury claims they filed on behalf of the clients, and distributed proceeds to the clients and to themselves, but failed to pay the medical bills, as promised.
In a petition filed on Nov. 29 in state district court in Houston, Houston Medical Group alleges it provided medical treatment to clients of the two firms from June 2013 through January 2017 under “letters of protection.” A letter of protection, according to the petition, is a written promise that the personal injury attorney will pay the medical provider's bills with proceeds from settlement of the client's personal injury case.
“In return for plaintiff's treatment of defendants' clients and deferral of any demands for payment, defendants promised to set aside the proceeds from any recoveries obtained as a result of each client's personal injury case in order to reimburse plaintiff for services rendered,” Houston Medical Group alleges.
Houston Medical Group seeks actual damages totaling at least $1,423,291, exemplary damages and attorney fees. It brings several causes of action against the defendants, including breach of contract, fraud, conversion, promissory estoppel and unjust enrichment.
Paul Bowers, who no longer practices at Bowers Law Group, declined comment and referred questions to Joe Williams, owner of JMW Law Group. Williams could not be reached for comment. A call to a telephone number for Bowers Law Group was answered by JMW Law Group.
Bowers now practices at DeSouza Law in San Antonio.
According to the petition in Houston Medical Group v. The Bowers Law Group, JMW Law Group “substituted for Bowers, or accepted referrals from Bowers, on some or all of Bowers' personal injury cases at some point between 2016 and 2018.”
Jared Johnson, a partner at Sullins, Johnston, Rohrbach & Magers in Houston, who represents Houston Medical Group, said his client is owed money from the settlement of claims filed by the defendants on behalf of about 300 clients.
Johnson has sued Bowers Law Group before. In 2017, he filed a petition in Houston on behalf of Memorial MRI & Diagnostic, seeking at least $73,535 for services it provided to the firm's clients with personal injury claims or causes of action.
Bowers Law Group, represented by Williams, denied the allegations in Memorial MRI & Diagnostic v. The Bowers Law Group, and the plaintiff filed a nonsuit in June.
“It was resolved,” Johnson said.
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 All
BakerHostetler Team Get $1.6M Verdict Against Jailers Who Assaulted Inmate
5 minute read
Wave of Office Closures Highlights the Weighty Stakes Surrounding Law Firm Growth
7 minute read
Am Law 50's Runaway Rates Put Onus on Legal Departments to Stiffen Resistance
4 minute readTrending Stories
Who Got The Work
Dechert partners Andrew J. Levander, Angela M. Liu and Neil A. Steiner have stepped in to defend Arbor Realty Trust and certain executives in a pending securities class action. The complaint, filed July 31 in New York Eastern District Court by Levi & Korsinsky, contends that the defendants concealed a 'toxic' mobile home portfolio, vastly overstated collateral in regards to the company's loans and failed to disclose an investigation of the company by the FBI. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen, is 1:24-cv-05347, Martin v. Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Arthur G. Jakoby, Ryan Feeney and Maxim M.L. Nowak from Herrick Feinstein have stepped in to defend Charles Dilluvio and Seacor Capital in a pending securities lawsuit. The complaint, filed Sept. 30 in New York Southern District Court by the Securities and Exchange Commission, accuses the defendants of using consulting agreements, attorney opinion letters and other mechanisms to skirt regulations limiting stock sales by affiliate companies and allowing the defendants to unlawfully profit from sales of Enzolytics stock. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr., is 1:24-cv-07362, Securities and Exchange Commission v. Zhabilov et al.
Who Got The Work
Clark Hill members Vincent Roskovensky and Kevin B. Watson have entered appearances for Architectural Steel and Associated Products in a pending environmental lawsuit. The complaint, filed Aug. 27 in Pennsylvania Eastern District Court by Brodsky & Smith on behalf of Hung Trinh, accuses the defendant of discharging polluted stormwater from its steel facility without a permit in violation of the Clean Water Act. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Gerald J. Pappert, is 2:24-cv-04490, Trinh v. Architectural Steel And Associated Products, Inc.
Who Got The Work
Michael R. Yellin of Cole Schotz has entered an appearance for S2 d/b/a the Shoe Surgeon, Dominic Chambrone a/k/a Dominic Ciambrone and other defendants in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The case, filed July 15 in New York Southern District Court by DLA Piper on behalf of Nike, seeks to enjoin Ciambrone and the other defendants in their attempts to build an 'entire multifaceted' retail empire through their unauthorized use of Nike’s trademark rights. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald, is 1:24-cv-05307, Nike Inc. v. S2, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Sullivan & Cromwell partner Adam S. Paris has entered an appearance for Orthofix Medical in a pending securities class action arising from a proposed acquisition of SeaSpine by Orthofix. The suit, filed Sept. 6 in California Southern District Court, by Girard Sharp and the Hall Firm, contends that the offering materials and related oral communications contained untrue statements of material fact. According to the complaint, the defendants made a series of misrepresentations about Orthofix’s disclosure controls and internal controls over financial reporting and ethical compliance. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Linda Lopez, is 3:24-cv-01593, O'Hara v. Orthofix Medical Inc. et al.
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
