WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – A Washington, D.C., law firm says an attorney it loaned money to is cashing in on Roundup lawsuit settlements without paying it back.
Banner Legal filed suit Nov. 15 in D.C. federal court against Peter Miller and his firm Miller Dellafera. Miller was a non-lawyer partner in Banner but borrowed money from the firm and one of its lawyers, Cary McDonald, the lawsuit says.
A settlement of the financial dispute said Miller would pay Banner 20% of settlement payments made in Miller’s Roundup cases, up to $520,000. Roundup litigation alleges Monsanto’s weedkiller causes non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, though the defendant (and the federal government) says that’s not true.
Banner’s lawsuit suspects Miller has been raking in the dough from his Roundup cases without paying Banner.
“(T)he Plaintiff has been informed that the Defendant Miller has paid money out of his firm and paid it back to lenders with whom he has leveraged his firm, instead of making payments to the Plaintiff, as well as making significant payments for the personal acquisition of non-firm assets by Defendant Peter Miller, and in fraud of his firm’s creditors,” the suit says.
“(T)he Plaintiff asserts that Miller has taken money and purchased substantial real estate and may in fact have been transferring money to foreign jurisdictions for the purpose of ensuring that his creditors did not receive payments, particularly the Plaintiff.”
The company serving as the Roundup settlement administrator, ARX, has refused to put an attorney’s lien on Miller’s settlements, the suit says.
The sides agreed to a temporary restraining order that keeps Miller from being paid his legal fees for 21 days, or until the court hears arguments on a motion for preliminary injunction.
A filing from Miller’s lawyer says he has the $520,000 ready but has not agreed to send them to Banner because Banner has violated their agreement. Miller claims letters to shared clients in other litigation says Miller will receive 2% of those attorneys fees instead of the 4% stipulated in the agreement.