DALLAS – On Veterans Day four years ago, a North Texas black man made headlines when Chili’s management took away his free meal after a customer questioned whether he was truly a veteran.
Now, the civil rights attorneys who represented Ernest Walker in a claim against Brinker International are locked in a legal fight over the fees carved out of the settlement proceeds.
Alleging breach of contract, attorney Kim Cole filed suit against attorneys Lee Merritt Sr. and Jasmine Crockett on Jan. 14, 2019 in Dallas County District Court.
On Nov. 12, 2016, Cole claims she entered into an oral agreement with Merritt and Crocket to represent Walker and that she would receive 50 percent of the 33 percent contingency fee or 16.5 percent of the total recovery.
The case settled a month later and “despite Cole’s tireless work” Merritt and Crocket refused to pay her what was promised, the suit states.
Court records show Cole has informally accepted a settlement from Merritt for 26 percent of the original attorney’s fees but is still pressing her claims against Crockett for additional monies.
Cole and Crockett were ordered to participate in negotiation talks on July 29.
Two days later, Crockett filed a motion for leave, asserting Cole failed to follow the instructions of the court.
“If the Court finds that Plaintiff has met her burden to proceed with any claim against Defendant Crockett, individually, Defendant Crockett respectfully requests leave to file post-hearing brief as closing argument to address Plaintiff’s failure to establish any contractual relationship With Defendant Crockett and failure to provide required testimony under quantum meruit as to the reasonability of fees for services,” the motion states.
Crockett is represented by Dallas attorney Sadat Montgomery.
Cole is represented by Dallas attorney Darren Wolf.
Case No. DC-19-00614