Pharmaceutical gelcap-maker Procaps SA sued Carlton Fields Jorden Burt in Florida state court on Tuesday, alleging the law firm’s shoddy advice in a contentious antitrust lawsuit exposed Procaps to an $18.5 million legal fee award.
Colombia-based Procaps, represented by Miami-based legal malpractice specialist Warren Trazenfeld, alleges in Miami-Dade County’s Eleventh Judicial Circuit that Carlton Fields failed to fully inform the company about the risks of pursuing litigation against a former joint venture partner, Patheon Inc., under Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. That law includes a provision that allowed Patheon and its lawyers at Cooley to seek their legal fees after securing a summary judgment that put an end to Procaps’ antitrust claims.
