HOUSTON – Attorney Brent Coon wants a lawsuit against him pulled out of the courts and placed on the arbitration table.
Seeking more than $1 million in damages, Gary Pesce and his company, Ocean Flex OMTS, filed suit against Coon and his firm on Aug. 13, 2020 in Harris County District Court.
“This is a case of lawyer neglect turned deception,” the suit states. “The lawyers were hired to represent plaintiff in his economic loss claims stemming from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. But the greed associated with maintaining a massive BP docket without adequate resources required the lawyers to neglect their duties.”
As a result, Coon and his team failed to comply with a “simple” pretrial order because it was too “tedious and time consuming,” leading to Pesce’s claims being dismissed in July 2016.
“But the lawyers did not notify plaintiff of this dismissal and instead led him on to believe that the claims were still alive and well, working their way through the settlement process,” the suit states. “Meanwhile, the lawyers were secretly appealing plaintiff’s claims hoping to obtain a reversal, but the appeal was eventually dismissed because the appeal was filed more than eight months late.”
Court records show Coon answered the suit on Sept. 11, also filing a motion to compel arbitration.
Coon maintains Pesce filed his suit in violation of an arbitration clause he agreed to when entering into a contract with his firm on April 26, 2012.
Coon requested a hearing on the motion be held back in December, but as of Jan. 4 no ruling is on file.
Pesce is represented by Houston attorneys David and Lance Kassab.
Case No. 2020-48586