HOUSTON – A motion to compel production of documents was denied earlier this week in a suit accusing Boeing and Southwest Airlines of colluding to cover up fatal defects in an aircraft.
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.
Court records show the defendants filed the motion back in October, seeking: relevant documents of plaintiff Muhammad Khan; law firm financial statements and litigation-funder agreements for the law firms representing the plaintiffs; and exhibits cited in a motion related to the law firms representing the plaintiffs.
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.”
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, a lawsuit lender, has filed a lien, not theirs.
U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant denied the motion on Aug. 2, finding that because Hecht Partners is no longer counsel of record in this action, any request for production relevant to the firm is now moot.
On Oct. 30, David Hecht, a former Pierce Bainbridge attorney who left to form Hecht Partners, withdrew from the case, court records show.
Court records further show that 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.
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, 2020. 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.
As previously reported, Creative Capital Funding, a lawsuit lender, filed a breach of contract suit against Pierce Bainbridge in April. Virage 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.”
Filed in the Eastern District of Texas, case No. 4:19-cv-00507