HOUSTON – When attorney Chris Hollins was appointed to head up the Harris County clerk’s office earlier this year, he said that he’d be “pausing” his legal services – but apparently that hasn’t stopped him from being sued for ambulance chasing.
Hollins, along with his law firm and two other other individuals, attorney Dax Garza and Gerald Puglisi, were named as defendants in a barratry lawsuit filed today in Harris County District Court.
At the core of the suit, plaintiff Derrick Ballard claims a “known fraudster” of The Hollins Law Group unlawfully solicited him following an auto accident.
When Hollins’ firm couldn’t obtain a quick settlement, Ballard’s case was referred to another firm without them entering into a proper fee sharing agreement.
“The lawyers nonetheless illegally and unethically split fess, without disclosing to Ballard that his case had been procured by barratry,” the suit states. “Because the lawyers breached their fiduciary duty to Ballard and obtained his case through barratry, Ballard is entitled to bring this case against them.”
According to the suit, the auto accident occurred on Oct. 26, 2017. Right Away Towing showed up and towed Ballard’s vehicle to Eastex Collision Repair. Ballard rode with the wrecker driver, who allegedly solicited him to hire a lawyer and told him David Soliz at Eastex Collision could connect him with an attorney.
“When Ballard got to Eastex Collision, he spoke with Soliz and Soliz solicited Ballard to hire Hollins Law,” the suit states. “As part of the solicitation, Soliz gave Ballard the number of ‘Jerry P’ whose real name is Gerald Puglisi.”
According to the suit, Puglisi is a senior analyst with Hollins Law and had been previously involved in “an intricate scheme to defraud insurance companies through staged accidents and inflated and fraudulent medical billings.”
Ballard claims Puglisi paid him $300 to sign documents that would ultimately employ Hollins Law. Puglisi also allegedly told Ballard not to use his own doctor and sent him to “the firm’s doctor” at Advanced Diagnostic Hospital and Clinic.
A suit was filed on Ballard’s behalf on April 13, 2018.
“When Hollins could not obtain a quick settlement, he sent the case to Dax F. Garza,” the suit states. “Ballard entered into a contingency fee contract with Garza PC in May 2018, but no association or joint representation agreement was entered into that would ethically and legally permit Hollins Law and Garza PC to share attorney’s fees.”
Garza ultimately obtained a settlement and deducted $250,000 in fees, which he split evenly with Hollins Law.
“From the settlement, Hollins Law and Garza PC also paid several medical providers, both legitimate and illegitimate, including Advanced Diagnostic,” the suit states. “The money that Puglisi’s paid to Ballard to solicit him as a client was repaid … in addition to other advances.”
Ballard alleges Hollins Law conspired with Eastex Collision to unethically solicit clients and shared attorney’s fees with them.
He is suing to recover $276,128.07 in fees and expenses paid to his lawyers, $170,836.62 for the balance of any fees paid to any other person under the contract and $30,000 in penalties.
Houston attorney Lance Kassab represents him.
Case No. 2020-51587