HOUSTON – Several plaintiffs in a class-action suit against Boeing are evidently still retaining attorney John Pierce of Pierce Bainbridge, a law firm whose money troubles with a lawsuit lender have spilled over into the case.
The case in question, Damonie Earl et al v. Boeing, was filed under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and centers on ticket buyers claiming Southwest Airlines colluded with Boeing to mislead the public about the aerospace giant’s defective 737 Max Jets.
Although multiple law firms represent the plaintiffs, Pierce says several of the plaintiffs, including Damonie Earl, originated with his firm and have continued to retain Pierce Bainbridge.
Court records show the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on Aug. 19. The firms listed as representing the plaintiffs include Yavar Bathaee, Dovel & Luner and Capshaw DeRieux.
The complaint does not list Pierce Bainbridge as a law firm representing the plaintiffs.
On Oct. 30, David Hecht, a former Pierce Bainbridge attorney who left to form Hecht Partners, withdrew from the case, court records show.
As previously reported, Creative Capital Funding, a lawsuit lender, filed a breach of contract suit against Pierce Bainbridge in April. Virage, another lawsuit lender, intervened in the case.
Soon after, a power struggle between partners broke out over who was actually representing the class.
Court documents state Boeing described the struggle as an “internecine squabbling among law firms over basic questions of representation of a single client or client group and allegations of attorney misconduct.”
Court filings in the case also show the parties are in a heated discovery battle, with both sides seeking information while opposing requests for production.
The plaintiffs filed an opposition to the defendants’ motion for production, arguing that the defendants have “received virtually everything they have asked for” and are now “grasping at straws searching for something else to demand for financial information from their adversaries – with no basis whatsoever.”
Court records show the defendants asked for any litigation funding agreements the law firms representing the plaintiffs might have. The law firms are Bathaee Dunne, Dovel & Luner and Capshaw DeRieux.
However, none of the aforementioned firms have any such agreement, according to the plaintiffs’ opposition.
The plaintiffs’ firms argue it is Pierce Bainbridge’s interest against which Virage Capital has filed a lien, not theirs.
Filed in the Eastern District of Texas, case No. 4:19-cv-00507