ST. LOUIS (Legal Newsline) – Confident in their argument for dismissal, lawyers for defendants sued by the firm Armstrong Teasdale are asking a federal judge to halt other proceedings in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against them.
The firm sued Gallant Capital, Liont LLC and Eventide Credit Acquisitions earlier this year in St. Louis, alleging they failed to pay more than $3 million in fees.
But the defendants say “virtually all” of Armstrong Teasdale’s services were provided by the firm’s offices in Philadelphia and Virginia, calling into question the St. Louis’ federal court’s jurisdiction over the dispute. The defendants say the firm never represented them in any Missouri lawsuits.
Considering the defendants have no offices in Missouri and aren’t authorized to do business there, they feel the St. Louis federal court is the wrong place for the lawsuit.
On July 20, the defendants filed a motion to stay discovery while its motion to dismiss is decided.
“Defendants’ motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction is not only ‘colorable,’ it is ‘likely to resolve the entire’ case,” the motion for stay says. “As shown in their motion, none of the defendants have any constitutionally significant contacts with Missouri. The court thus lacks jurisdiction over them.”
Turning to the fees allegedly owed, the defendants noted the original bill was for $10 million.
“Thus, setting aside the likelihood of any counterclaims, the discovery necessary to just assess the reasonableness of Plaintiff’s $10 million bill will be unavoidably broad,” the defendants say.
Where the case eventually progresses will also require the defendants to either hire a St. Louis lawyer as their expert or a lawyer from whichever jurisdiction the case is re-filed in.
Armstrong represented the defendants in more than a dozen lawsuits and arbitrations from 2018 to 2020. In September 2020, the defendant sallegedly told the plaintiff that Armstrong was being replaced as their representation, and have failed to pay more than $3.5 million in outstanding balances for legal fees.
The complaint says Armstrong Teasdale’s principal place of business is St. Louis.
“This Court has personal jurisdiction over each of the Defendants, because they requested Armstrong to provide legal service, negotiated and transacted business with Armstrong within the State of Missouri and within this district, Armstrong provided legal services to Defendants from Missouri, invoices were generated by Armstrong in Missouri and sent to Defendants from Missouri, and Defendants made partial payment of Armstrong’s fees and costs to Armstrong in Missouri,” the lawsuit says.