Mattress Firm store (Photo: John Disney/ ALM) |

Atlanta attorneys representing defendants accused in a civil suit of orchestrating a massive bribery and kickback scheme that allegedly siphoned millions of dollars from the nation's largest retail mattress seller contend their clients were acting in good faith and will be exonerated before the case ever goes to trial.

But the suit—filed on behalf of Mattress Firm by John Thomas of Hicks Thomas in Houston—claims that two high-ranking company executives and Mattress Firm's Atlanta-based master real estate broker all have admitted their culpability.

The suit, filed Oct. 30 in Harris County District Court in Houston, alleges that Colliers Atlanta, an affiliate of global real estate brokerage Colliers International, and senior vice president Alexander Deitch arranged and delivered kickbacks to two key Mattress Firm executives from select developers across the country, some of whom are also defendants in the Texas case.