WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - Mass tort lawyers want their lawsuit over an agreement with colleagues sent back to the court in which they filed it.
LawCo filed a motion to remand March 1 in District of Columbia federal court, asking that the case be sent back to district Superior Court. Defendant Cooper Law Firm had removed the case to federal court last year.
The suit says despite an agreement to pursue hernia mesh implant cases together, Cooper has failed to open a joint bank account.
The motion to remand says the citizenship of an LLC is the citizenship of its members, so complete diversity doesn't exist - eliminating the need for federal jurisdiction. LawCo says both a member of it and a member of Cooper are Florida residents.
Also, the $75,000 minimum amount in question isn't in play because the complaint seeks only declaratory and injunctive relief, LawCo says.
"(T)he value to Plaintiff in enforcing its rights under the (joint venture agreement) is the demonstrable value of the percentage of settlement proceeds to which it is contractually entitled with respect to each of the hernia mesh litigations subject to the JVA," the motion says.
"But any such value involves future, contingent interests that cannot presently be predicted, let alone valued."
LawCo says it is trying to prevent Cooper from depositing funds from their business venture in a separate account. The agreement at issue was entered into in August 2018, the suit says, to represent potential claimants in lawsuits against the makers and distributors of hernia mesh implants, as well as sales representatives who promoted their usage.
Section 6.4 agreement says the two shall "establish a bank account in the joint name of CLF and LawCo" to be used exclusively for finances for hernia mesh cases.
It took three years before LawCo "began efforts" to establish the account, by sending a $100 check to Cooper. But in May 2022, security concerns led LawCo to find a different bank.
Nine days later, Cooper said it would return that $100 check and no longer agreed to open a joint account.
An email from Celeste Brustowicz, managing partner of Cooper Law, said the company was concerned LawCo did not have a Louisiana attorney, though it was authorized to do business there.
"Was the account ever set up before as described in the [Joint Prosecution Agreement]?" Brustowicz wrote. "I think not as I cannot see any evidence of it on my end. To me, that is another reason not to have the account as our course of conduct showed it was unnecessary.
"The settlement funds will come to CLF as counsel of record. CLF will prepare settlement statements to be approved by Lawco and Local counsel in advance of distribution."
LawCo administrator Richard Sackett responded: "Not acceptable. Cooper Laws failure to honor a long standing agreement which you have previously encouraged is the very reason why it is necessary."