FORT WORTH, Texas (Legal Newsline) – The personal injury lawyer who tried to call himself – only be told he’s unavailable – has an injunction against a client-generating site to prevent it from using his name.
Travis Patterson of Patterson Law Group, as well as other PI lawyers, reached an agreement with Proaccidentinjurylawyers.com in October as they pursue litigation against the site.
The group of lawyers whose names and images are featured on the site as “TOP LAWYERS” have filed a class action against the website, accusing it of tricking prospective plaintiffs into thinking they will be contacting firms like Texas’ Patterson Law Group.
Instead, those clients are allegedly told the Patterson phones are busy and referred to other personal injury firms that are willing to buy the clients' information. No specific buyer firm is named as a defendant.
The injunction bars the site from using the plaintiffs’ images, likenesses or names, as well as other biographical information.
Patterson called the phone number listed next to his name. He entered into evidence a recording of the call, during which he was told he was unavailable to talk to himself.
Potential plaintiffs who call these numbers actually have their information sold to other lead-generation companies and attorneys who are willing to pay, the suit says.
“Defendants and their end-user attorney customers are exploiting the plaintiffs’ and putative class’ names and reputations for their own commercial gain, intending to confuse and deceive the public by drawing on Plaintiffs’ and the putative class’ goodwill in the marketplace,” the suit says.
Named plaintiff firms, in addition to Patterson, are Law Office of Robert L. Henry, AmblerLaw and Durham, Pittard & Spalding.
Defendants are Rocket Verticals, the website and Jasdeep Singh.