HOUSTON – A lawsuit accusing The Kassab Law Firm of stealing a client list to pursue barratry claims will continue to go forward, thanks to a recent appellate opinion.
Barratry, commonly called ambulance chasing, is the illegal solicitation of clients.
Attorney Michael Pohl and his firm sued Lance Kassab, along with several other individuals and entities, for allegedly conspiring to steal his client list to pursue barratry claims against him.
In response, several of the defendants, including Kassab, filed motions to dismiss under the Texas Citizens Participation Act – an anti-SLAPP measure enacted to protect free speech.
When a trial court denied the motions, an appeal ensued.
On Sept. 17, the First Court of Appeals affirmed, allowing Pohl’s suit against Kassab, the Baker Nicholson Law Firm and Scott Farve to proceed.
The root of the litigation goes all the way back to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. Pohl, a Texas attorney, was interested in representing Mississippi residents.
According to the opinion, Pohl allegedly entered into a business relationship with three men, agreeing to pay them a finder’s fee for clients they solicited and promising them a cut of the attorney’s fees after the cases settled.
“There is evidence that the three men contacted people and businesses in Mississippi to determine if they might have a claim against BP, encouraged those people to retain Pohl as their attorney, and were paid over $5 million in ‘barratry pass-through money’ for their services,” the opinion states.
Pohl, who represented hundreds of plaintiffs in suits against BP, was sued by the three men, who claimed they provided “marketing services” for him and brought in “millions of dollars of claims each week” to his firm but never received the agreed fee for their services.
The three men performed their “marketing services” as part of Precision Marketing Group, which was eventually purchased by Favre (one of the defendants who moved to dismiss under the TCPA).
While the case settled and was dismissed in April 2017, Kassab heard about Pohl’s alleged solicitation activities and began researching the matter.
Kassab met with Favre and his counsel, Tina Nicholson of Baker Nicholson. Favre transferred Precision Marketing’s files to Kassab, including Pohl’s client list.
According to the opinion, Kassab paid Favre, but it is disputed whether the payment was for Pohl’s client list or for Favre’s expertise.
After obtaining the client list, Kassab prepared an advertisement letter, informing recipients “that they may have been a victim of barratry” and may “be entitled to file civil claims against Pohl” under the Texas civil barratry statute.
Hundreds of Mississippi residents responded, with more than 400 signing representation contracts with Kassab to pursue barratry claims against Pohl.
Court records show four barratry suits, each with multiple plaintiffs, were filed in Harris County District Court. The litigation is ongoing.
Seeking more than $1 million in damages, Pohl filed suit his against Kassab and the others in 2018.
When filing their TCPA motions to dismiss, Kassab and the others alleged Pohl filed his suit in retaliation for their disclosure of his alleged barratry activity.
On appeal, the First Court found the commercial-speech exemption applies, concluding there was no error in denial of the motions.
Appeals case No. 01-18-01143-CV