December 2007
12/05/07
Buffalo Law Firm Disputes Critic With Facts & Court Decisions
12/05/07 Buffalo Law Firm
Disputes Critic With Facts & Court Decisions
Buffalo, NY – Dec. 5, 2007 –
Damon & Morey, Buffalo’s third largest law firm, took the offensive
today in responding to the recent accusations of a former client, who,
despite repeated court decisions affirming and ordering payment of the
firm’s legal fees, began publicly attacking the firm.
“With such an outright attack on our people and our reputation – and
one so riddled with falsehoods and incomplete assertions, we had no
choice but to go public with this information,” said Peter Marlette,
Damon & Morey’s Managing Partner.
The facts demonstrate that Damon & Morey successfully represented D.A.
Elia Construction Corp. for more than 14 years, starting in 1988.
During the course of its representation, Damon & Morey pursued and
defended D.A. Elia’s many lawsuits and filed its Chapter 11 bankruptcy
in 1994 when litigation ensued with its bonding company. During the
bankruptcy proceedings, Damon & Morey helped secure a settlement worth
over $7 million for wrongful termination of bonding. The $4.6 million
cash settlement the law firm helped recover allowed D.A. Elia to repay
all its outstanding debts while still having money left over for D.A.
Elia’s principals.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in a Summary
Order dated June 28, 2007 commented on United States Bankruptcy Judge
Michael J. Kaplan’s handling of the matter by stating: “Judge Kaplan
presided over this bankruptcy for its duration and had the opportunity
to evaluate first-hand both the quality of Damon & Morey’s performance
and the contributions made by the firm to a rarity – a Chapter 11 case
in which all general creditors were paid in full.”
“We have a successful, growing law firm built on our character and
integrity,” said Marlette. “We represented D.A. Elia extremely well,
through thousands of hours of work on its behalf, and yet we were
forced to secure a court order to obtain the legal fees for which we
were owed and entitled.
“I will not let one former client – whose claims have been repeatedly
denied by every court and judge who considered them – threaten our
firm’s good name and long-standing reputation,” he added.
After repeated mediation attempts, the firm was forced to seek the
assistance of the courts. Damon & Morey’s position was successfully
upheld in all of the eight court rulings on the fees matter. In highly
unusual language, one United States Bankruptcy Judge even called Elia’s efforts “a gambit” to avoid paying the fees. Further commenting
on Elia’s tactics, the Judge went on to call its arguments for not
paying “a crock of baloney.”
Click here to download a copy of
the full court transcript from November 3, 2004 (proceedings
in the courtroom of Bankruptcy Court Judge Kaplan)
On October 16, 2007, the firm obtained a court order directing the
Erie County Sheriff to collect $342,518.49 in previously awarded legal
fees. Immediately following the seizure of the funds in mid-November
by the Sheriff, certain Elia shareholders undertook unconventional
means of confrontation including a website, billboard, flyers and
targeted email campaign.
The firm plans on taking all necessary actions to address the issue.
With 200 employees in four offices, Damon & Morey has grown
significantly in the last several years. The firm has been rated AV by
Martindale Hubbell for their high legal ability and very high
adherence to the professional standards of conduct, ethics,
reliability, and diligence. As a recent comment on the firm’s record,
eighteen Damon & Morey’s attorneys were selected by their peers to
appear in Business First of Buffalo’s 2007 “Who’s Who in Law”
List.
MORE ABOUT DAMON & MOREY
Founded more than 90 years ago, Damon & Morey is a full-service law
firm calling on the knowledge and experience of 84 attorneys, 19
paralegals and 93 support staff. The firm currently maintains four
offices, with its headquarters in Buffalo at 1000 Cathedral Place, 298
Main Street; offices are also located in Clarence, 9276 Main Street,
Suite 3B; Batavia, 10 Ellicott Street; and Rochester, The Powers
Building, Suite 760B, 16 West Main Street. The firm’s major areas of
practice include Business and Corporate Law, Business Litigation and
Insolvency, General Litigation, Healthcare, Labor & Employment,
Probate, Trust, & Estate, and Real Estate & Banking. For complete
information, visit the firm’s web site at www.damonmorey.com.
