NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - A Louisiana law firm says McClenny Moseley & Associates, which is under fire for an alleged scheme to take fees from homeowners who weren't aware they had hired it, is hassling hundreds of former clients who have jumped ship.
Morris Bart LLC sued MMA on May in New Orleans federal court in a fight over would-be plaintiffs who have suffered hurricane damage to their homes and are seeking insurance coverage.
MMA is accused of sending a roofing company to obtain an Assignment of Benefits that allows it to negotiate with a homeowner's insurer. Unbeknownst the homeowner, lawsuits allege, Apex Roofing then hires MMA to do that work and take a contingency fee from the insurance proceeds.
Hundreds of clients fed up after this alleged agreement came to light have hired Morris Bart and sent termination letters to MMA, the lawsuit says.
One such letter went to MMA on March 21, but MMA responded that it was "urgent" he sign settlement checks issued by his insurance company to him and MMA, the suit says.
Another client received a response weeks later that said the client "must take additional action in the case to either protect your rights so you can continue pursuing your claim, or dismiss the case in its [entirety] which will result in you losing your rights to continue pursuing your claim for damages," the sut says.
One response for a client who disclosed he had hired Morris Bart included paperwork for him to review so that a different firm that wasn't Morris Bart could continue moving his claim forward, the suit says.
And one client told MMA he had hired Morris Bart then received a text from MMA that it was "continuing to make connections for co-counsel" and would soon connect the man with "another stellar law firm," the suit says.
Morris Bart says the worst example of MMA interfering with its business was on April 21, when it sent a discharge letter to MMA on behalf of a client. After it was sent, a courier showed up at the client's house with paperwork for a settlement that included a 33% payment to MMA, the suit says.
Morris Bart says the client had not been informed previously there had been a settlement in his case.
Morris Bart is alleging intentional interference with business relations and violation of Louisiana law regarding legal services in the state by those not admitted to practice law there.
It seeks a declaration that MMA contracts are null and that it is not entitled to attorneys fees gained in cases by its former clients.
The alleged scheme has brought trouble for the MMA, particularly William Huye, the managing attorney of its Louisiana office.
Huye was temporarily suspended from practicing law in March, with Judge James Cain citing "ongoing misconduct" and a failure to properly document expenses for settlement approval.
Louis Carter - who has filed a class action against MMA, Apex Roofing and a marketing company called Velawcity - says an Apex representative approached him about roof damage suffered at his house following Hurricane Ida. The rep told him he could pay Apex a $500 deductible to fix the roof, then sign an Assignment of Benefits that permitted Apex to "get the ball rolling" on the insurer assessing the damage, the suit says.
Carter alleges this AOB contained no mention of MMA. The insurer, meanwhile, said the damage to the roof was nowhere as severe as Apex claimed.
"Eventually, Plaintiff was able to speak to the adjuster who inspected his property, who informed him off the record that his insurance company had been served with a letter of representation by MMA, who claimed that Plaintiff was their client, so the insurance company was no longer able to speak to Plaintiff directly," the suit says.
"This was the first time Plaintiff had ever heard of MMA or heard that it was claiming to represent him."
After weeks of trying to contact MMA, Carter finally told an attorney there that he did not want MMA representing him, the suit says. Carter preferred to handle the insurance claim himself.
Ultimately, MMA sent a "Notice of Withdrawal of Representation" to the insurer, the suit says. Carter said this was inappropriate, as he had never hired it in the first place.
"Plaintiff's experience dealing with MMA and Apex is similar to the experience of countless others across the State of Louisiana who had run-ins with Apex and MMA, and serves as one example of the schemes perpetrated by Defendants that have caused damage to the class of persons alleged in this petition," the suit says.