This past week was fairly slow, with a bit of settlement negotiation work and a bit of preparation for filing an application for prejudgment remedy.
On the PJR front, one of the firm’s new clients got ripped off for $300,000+ by a long time friend. So that stings a bit more than it would for an arms-length transaction. The client understandably is quite upset. The ripoff artist retained a big law firm, who offered to settle for less than 10% of what’s owed. That kind of move promotes bitter litigation. We’ll be filing an application for prejudgment remedy in New Britain Superior Court.
In Milford Superior Court, the firm just got a return of service on a PJR application in a business sale gone sour. The buyers ran out on a promissory note for nearly $1 million. Clearly that kind of loss will justify a lawsuit. But the buyers are the type of people who habitually conceal their assets — and don’t pay taxes, either. It may be challenging to collect.
Yet another PJR was wiped away in New Haven Federal Court, as I mentioned last week. No comment on the ongoing settlement discussions, other than progress is being made and it should turn out ok for everyone.
This week, Waterbury Superior Court granted my motion to strike a CUTPA counterclaim (the counterclaimant failed to allege that my client committed an unfair act in the conduct of their primary trade or business).
Meanwhile, Bridgeport Superior Court has set a hearing on my motion to amend the complaint, in the case where defendant tried a motion to dismiss instead of a motion to strike.
In New Haven Superior Court, the litigation is on hold until July. Parties are trying to work out a settlement.
In August, I’ll be defending a motion for contempt based on a new client’s failure to satisfy a two-year-old judgment. Obviously some client counseling is in order.
Here are the time entries from your latest summary, organized by client and matter.
For a long-time client, the firm marked up templates for a statement of work and for a master services agreements, as well as a mutual non-disclosure agreement.
In a patent matter, the firm negotiated with a patent examiner to get a proposed amendment for allowance of the application.
In the same case where Waterbury Superior Court struck the CUTPA counterclaim, we had an evidentiary hearing on my client’s application for a prejudgment remedy. It took about half an hour to prepare him for his testimony. Cross-examining the defendant was interesting as he pretended to not know who his customers were at the grocery store. Now waiting an order from Judge Cordani. If it goes my client’s way, the attachment of the defendant’s bank accounts could be big leverage for a good settlement.
I attended Court in Derby for a status conference on the Milford Superior Court PJR application for the promissory note, where the defendants e-mailed me as I was sitting in the courtroom to let me know they were continuing the matter so they could confer with counsel. But I know that they already conferred with counsel, who called me, discussed the case, and decided to turn them down.
There’s a used car sale dispute in Milford Superior Court, in which the firm has just about secured a settlement for the used car dealer client. The plaintiff there is a particularly competent pro se.
Another case in Milford Superior Court, where I attended a Derby status conference to which the other attorney also attended. We spoke for a while with Judge Welch about the pending motion to consolidate and request to revise. Agreed that we would defer all those matters until the defendant (other attorney’s client) provides discovery of bank records etc. that will tend to show whether she has/not embezzled funds from the LLC. A lot of hours went into my opposition to the motion to consolidate, which I filed soon before the status conference.
In Bridgeport Superior Court, Judge Reed granted the firm’s motion to cite in a cross-defendant and ordered the plaintiff to amend his complaint to incorporate facts pleaded in my client’s cross-complaint.
The continuing New Haven Federal Court debt collection matter continues to limp along toward some kind of resolution; my client is down to working out a payment plan for the balance owed.
Referring back to the $300,000 rip off, I drove up to New Britain where there is a very nice new courthouse in which I filed an application for ex parte PJR. The Court then returned the packet telling me to first serve it on the defendants because they had a commercial waiver in their contract. Not going to quibble the Court’s instructions.
A new client needs help negotiating an employment offer that came with some onerous intellectual property clauses. Sadly, the offeror has not responded to the firm’s markups and e-mail of last week.
