Morgan & Morgan website's screenshot.

As discovery heats up in a false advertising lawsuit against national personal injury firm Morgan & Morgan, the Philadelphia personal injury firm that filed the suit is claiming Morgan refuses to hand over copies of advertisements it ran in the past, and is drumming up business in Pennsylvania just to defend against the lawsuit.

Rosenbaum & Associates and lawyer Jeff Rosenbaum filed a motion to compel Tuesday, asking the court to ensure that Morgan & Morgan complies with discovery requests for the old commercials and client information. The Philadelphia firm argued that old advertisements are relevant to the lawsuit because they have an impact on current advertising, which is why federal courts often require corrective ads when a campaign is found to be misleading.

Rosenbaum's suit, filed in federal court in Philadelphia in September, alleges that Morgan & Morgan's ads are deceptive and have caused a decline in new clients at Rosenbaum & Associates. He has also sought an injunction requiring Morgan & Morgan to pull its ads off television for the duration of the case.

“Suppose a surgeon spent millions of dollars convincing consumers that he has an experienced and well trained orthopedic staff in Philadelphia, but his practice is in California and he only has a first-year doctor with no surgical experience in Philadelphia,” the motion to compel said.

According to Rosenbaum's amended complaint, Morgan & Morgan has made changes to its commercials since the first complaint was filed in September. Rosenbaum has also made his own commercial since filing the complaint, attacking Morgan & Morgan.

In addition to the commercials, Rosenbaum requested information from Morgan & Morgan on its clients and referrals in Philadelphia, the number of personal injury suits it has filed in Pennsylvania and the identities of the lawyers involved in those matters. The motion alleged that Morgan & Morgan has only provided information on cases, clients and referrals they've gotten since August.

“Defendants refuse to admit they are operating a referral services and, instead, have revamped their business model,” the motion to compel said. “In order to defend this lawsuit, defendants have increased their advertising budget and started signing fee agreements under Morgan & Morgan.”

According to the motion, Rosenbaum also requested information with respect to three named Morgan & Morgan clients, two of whom Rosenbaum now represents. Morgan & Morgan did not provide information about those specific clients, Rosenbaum said.

Gaetan J. Alfano of Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, who is representing Morgan & Morgan, said in an email Wednesday that Rosenbaum's latest motion “is inaccurate and we will file our response in court.”