SAN ANTONIO – A marketing firm is claiming Martin Phipps’ law firm owes hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In the span of two years, Phipps changed the name of his law firm three times – Phipps Anderson Deacon, Phipps Deacon Purnell and the more recent Phipps Mayes.
On Jan. 28, MG Marketing filed a suit naming all three of them as defendants.
Phipps may be looking to change the firm’s name yet again, as T.J. Mayes left Phipps Mayes last month.
Not long after leaving, Mayes, the former chief of staff for Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolf, trashed his former partner on Twitter, calling Phipps a “crook” and “serial abuser of women.”
Mayes has also filed a formal complaint against Phipps with the State Bar of Texas.
As previously reported, several other partners have abandoned Phipps in recent years, despite his firm currently handling Bexar County’s $1 billion opioid lawsuit.
While the reasons behind the mass exodus aren’t exactly clear, Phipps seems to be experiencing financial difficulties.
On Jan. 29, the San Antonio Business Journal reported a bank repossessed Phipps’ private jet.
In the recently filed suit against Phipps’ firms, MG Marketing alleges Phipps owes $344,169.54 in unpaid invoices.
According to the lawsuit, on May 16, 2016, Phipps Anderson Deacon and MG Marketing entered into an agreement, wherein MG Marketing performed services such as assisting in the Syngenta corn litigation case, hail marketing and marketing for Paramour (Phipps’ rooftop bar).
Under the agreement, MG Marketing would be paid flat fees and incentives based upon client sign-ups.
The suit states MG Marketing’s primary contact with the law firm was Jason Reichl, a former Phipps employee who was charged with criminal theft back in March 2019.
As previously reported, Phipps may have made straw man donations through Reichl.
According to the suit, Phipps paid MG Marketing for the first year, but “payments became less frequent” over time.
“Phipps knew that PAD (Phipps Anderson Deacon) had not paid MG Marketing and continued to string MG Marketing along promising a payment that never came,” the suit states. “Phipps claimed that PAD could only pay after certain cases, like the Syngenta corn litigation cases, settled. In a text message on or about April 17, 2018,
Phipps stated that he “wanted to get [MG Marketing] paid off within [the] next 3 months.
“However, that payment never came, and MG Marketing’s invoices continue to go unpaid.”
MG Marketing is accusing Phipps of breach of contract, unjust enrichment and string-along fraud.
MG Marketing is suing for actual, consequential and special damages, plus courts costs and attorney’s fees.
The Dallas law firm of Crawford, Wishnew & Lang represents the company.
Filed in Tarrant County, case No. 048-323196-21
Biz inter mdl MDL No. 2942