Strong Pipkin non-suits defendant in $100K attorney’s fees suit

A Beaumont law firm claiming it was not paid more than $100,000 in fees after it won a case in a contractor’s favor has filed a notice of non-suit.

As previously reported, Strong Pipkin Bissell & Ledyard filed a lawsuit April 5 in Jefferson County District Court against Village Contractors. 

Court records show that on Sept. 24 the firm filed a notice of non-suit, stating that it no longer wished to pursue its claims against Village Contractors.

According to the suit, Strong Pipkin claims it represented Village Contractors in a case against Trading Fair Inc. filed in Jefferson County District Court.

Village Contractors won the case and was awarded a final judgment and attorney’s fees of $106,200 and taxable costs of $25,140, according to the law firm’s current complaint.

“Subsequently, funds totaling $338,382 held in the registry of that court were forwarded to and received by Village Contractors,” the suit states. “After receiving the funds, Village Contractors refused to pay their attorney, Strong Pipkin to discharge the attorney’s fee award.”

Following the resulting dispute between the law firm and the company, Village Contractors agreed to pay Strong, Pipkin, Bissell and Ledyard $131,340.63, the complaint says. The money was supposed to come from a sale of property that belonged to Trading Fair, the defendant in the original lawsuit. However, the sale never occurred, according to the complaint.

Richard G. Lewis of Boneau and Lewis in Port Arthur represents the firm.

Judge Milton Shuffield, 136th District Court, is assigned to the case.

Case No. D192-277