Law Firm Accused of Barratry for Allegedly Soliciting Crash Victims
The plaintiffs allegedly received a call from Kanner & Pintaluga two days after the crash, offering representation and a minimum recovery of $10,000. The law firm did not respond to a request for comment.
November 12, 2024 at 07:00 PM
3 minute read
Progressive Casualty Insurance Co. was accused of illegally sharing crash victims' personal information with Kanner & Pintaluga for alleged solicitation.
Now, a putative class action filed in the Southern District of Texas targets both the law firm and insurer.
The named plaintiffs, Kelly Cook and Esther Kelley-Cook, alleged that Progressive and Kanner & Pintaluga violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, Texas' Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Driver's Privacy Protection Act. This complaint was surfaced on Law.com Radar.
The defendants did not respond to requests for comment by press time, and counsel has yet to appear for them.
According to the suit, Cook's parents were involved in a car crash while using a vehicle owned by Cook and Kelley-Cook. The crash allegedly caused minimal damage to the car, and the other driver was at fault, the complaint claimed.
But Cook allegedly received a call from Kanner & Pintaluga two days after the crash, offering representation and a minimum recovery of $10,000.
Kelley-Cook also allegedly got a solicitation call from the firm, which confirmed that Progressive had disclosed contact information "under an agreement between the two companies," the complaint said.
"Plaintiffs and others in the Classes seek justice for being exploited through [the] defendants’ fraudulent client-solicitation scheme," the suit claimed. "By contacting [the] plaintiffs and thousands of other crash victims without consent, [the] defendants profited illegally from this venture."
The plainitffs claimed that the defendants' alleged actions to conspire to solicit policyholders was barratry, meaning Progressive and Kanner & Pintaluga allegedly pushed for unnecessary litigation for their own gain.
"Defendants must pay $10,000 in statutory penalties to each plaintiff and each person similarly situated," the complaint said. "Moreover, for each person similarly situated who actually retained K&P, [the] defendants must also disgorge any revenue, profits, or any other gains from their fraudulent scheme to those similarly situated people. Defendants are therefore civilly liable for damages and penalties under Texas Government Code Section 82.0651."
The suit brings two proposed classes: an unsolicited-calls class and a Driver's Privacy Protection Act class.
The first proposed class would be made up of any individuals who received unsolicited contact from Kanner & Pintaluga between Nov. 11, 2022, and Monday after an accident was reported to Progressive.
And the second class would include anyone who reprorted a motor vehicle crash to Progressive who then provided the policyholders' information to a third party during the same time period as the first class.
There are allegedly thousands of potential class members.
Jarrett L. Ellzey, Tom Kherkher, Leigh S. Montgomery and Alexander G. Kykta of Ellzey Kherkher Sanford Montgomery are representing the plaintiffs. The attorneys did not respond to a request for comment.
The plaintiffs brought six causes of action against the defendnats, including barratry, conspiracy, violations of the DPPA, unjust enrichment, violations of Texas' Deceptive Trade Practices Act and violation of RICO.
This suit was surfaced by Law.com Radar, a cutting-edge solution for new suit alerts from federal and state courts. Law.com Radar delivers artificial intelligence-enhanced case summaries and daily case reports from more than 2,200 state and federal courts, all backed by the industry's most trusted source for legal news and data. Click here to get started and be among the first to act on opportunities in your region, practice area or client sector.
|
Read the complaint:
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllJones Day Client Seeks Indemnification for $7.2M Privacy Settlement, Plus Defense Costs
State Court Denies Firm's Attempts to Arbitrate Late Attorney's $10M Life Insurance Dispute
4 minute readDivided State Court Reinstates Dispute Over Replacement Vehicles Fees
5 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Justices Will Weigh Constitutionality of Law Allowing Terror Victims to Sue PLO
- 2Nevada Supreme Court to Decide Fate of Groundbreaking Contingency Cap Ballot Measure
- 3OpenAI Tells Court It Will Seek to Consolidate Copyright Suits Under MDL
- 44th Circuit Allows State Felon Voting Ban Challenge to Go Forward
- 5Class Actions Claim Progressive Undervalues Totaled Cars
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250