Last November, Shelly Kay Easterling sued the MCM Elegante Hotel on behalf of her late son, Guy Lambert, who allegedly overdosed on drugs and was found dead inside his hotel room.
Through Provost Umphrey attorneys Doug Sikes and Mark Sparks, the suit was filed Nov. 8 in Jefferson County District Court.
Court records show that on Feb. 22 Sikes and Sparks filed a motion to withdraw as counsel, claiming an issue with client communication exists and the relationship has become untenable.
Judge Bob Wortham, 58th District Court, granted the motion on Feb. 27, appointing Easterling as attorney pro se to handle legal proceedings.
According to the lawsuit, on Dec. 9, 2010, Lambert, 26, checked into a room at the Beaumont hotel after returning from work out of the country.
Later that evening, Lambert failed to meet his brother Chase Lambert as planned and was no longer responding to texts and phone calls. Chase drove to the Elegante but was refused access to his brother's room and left only after hotel staff threatened to call police.
The following morning, hotel employees found Lambert dead inside his room, the suit states.
"Autopsy results ... indicate Lambert's death was an accident as a result of drug toxicity," the suit states.
"(Had) defendant and/or its employees honored the repeated requests of Chase Lambert to check on the health and safety of his brother in his hotel room, medical care could have been provided and Lambert's death could have been prevented."
Easterling alleges the Elegante negligently failed to lookout for Lambert's safety.
She is suing for wrongful death damages.
Case No. A191-312
PU attorneys claim 'untenable' relationship with client, withdraw from wrongful death suit
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