NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) – A Georgia cancer detection laboratory is seeking a trial by jury over the outcome of a whistleblower suit.
LabMD Inc. and its owner and CEO Michael J. Daugherty filed a complaint on April 28 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Mary Beth Buchanan and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP alleging negligent omissions and fraudulent omissions.
According to the complaint, Buchanan represented Richard E. Wallace in a whistleblower suit in 2015 "who testified on behalf of LabMD on May 5, 2015, in an enforcement action filed by the Federal Trade Commission against LabMD."
The plaintiffs allege Buchanan, who is a former U.S. attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, violated the Ethics in Government Act by representing Wallace.
"Buchanan and BCLP kept Buchanan’s violation of 18 U.S.C. § 207(a)(1) secret in order to maintain an income stream from the firm’s representation of the whistleblower and to avoid embarrassment to Buchanan for her role in the fraudulent schemes of Wallace’s former employer. That concealment has allowed BCLP to bill Wallace over $500,000 in fees," the suit states.
The plaintiffs hold Buchanan and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP responsible because the defendants allegedly caused damages to the plaintiffs by their omissions.
The plaintiffs request a trial by jury and seek that the plaintiffs receive a trial by jury; actual, special, consequential and/or compensatory damages; costs of litigation; pre- and post-judgment interest; and such other relief as the court deems just, equitable and proper. They are represented by James W. Hawkins of James W. Hawkins LLC in Alpharetta, Georgia.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York case number 1:18-cv-03790-JPO