NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) – A lawyer sued by her BP oil spill clients has agreed to pay the bill she racked up defending herself.
A consent judgment filed July 20 in New Orleans federal court indicates Shantrell Nicks of The Nicks Law Firm will pay the $89,278.87 that was sought by the law firm Schonekas, Evans, McGoey & McEachin. She’ll throw in an extra $2,575 for the Schonekas firm’s fees and costs.
According to the complaint, Nicks retained the Schonekas firm in 2019 to provide legal services in connection with multiple lawsuits on an open account basis.
The Schonekas firm submitted monthly invoices between August 2019 and May 2021 to Nicks for approximately 600 hours defending her.
Nicks, whose firm is located in Gulfport, Miss., was the target of class action litigation by former clients who alleged she mishandled their BP oil spill claims.
Nicks is just one of the defendants in the case and she recently was granted dismissal of the plaintiffs’ fraud claims against her. She successfully argued the plaintiffs couldn’t plead sufficient specific allegations against her and only lumped her in with other defendants.