Tillery
Carr
EAST ST. LOUIS – Rex Carr's former partners, skeptical of his claim that he can't pay a $635,171.21 judgment, pry for dollars in 24 corners of his life.
On Dec. 20, Stephen Tillery, Steven Katz and Douglas Sprong served citations to discover assets on Carr, his firm, son Bruce Carr, six banks and 15 other businesses.
On behalf of the former partners, Robert Sprague of Belleville directed all 24 parties to send representatives to his office on Jan. 12.
He served citations on Carr himself, Rex Carr Corporation, Carlyle Yacht Club, and Horizon Cruises Limited, all at 215 N. 75th Street in Belleville.
Sprague served them on Carr's firm, Bruce Carr, Patricia Ryan Schmidt Interior Design Limited, Frame Classics Limited, RC Holding Company, Accent Area Rugs Limited, Carlyle Limited Partnership, Art Company London, and Art Classics Limited, all at 412 Missouri Avenue in East St. Louis.
He served them on Art Classics Limited Liability Corporation in Trenton, Accentrix Inc. in O'Fallon, and International Fuel Technology in Clayton, Mo.
He served one on Beaver Investments Limited Partnership in Pasadena, Texas.
He served one on Granite Investment Company, with no address in the record.
He also served Bank of America, First Bank Belleville, Union Bank of Illinois, Regions Bank, Associated Bank, and Central Bank of Lake of Ozarks, in Eldon, Mo.
He told all 24 to bring contracts with Carr, his invoices, a current statement of amounts paid and owed, attorney liens, and evidence of secured interest in his property.
Sprague offered to cancel appointments for those who responded ahead of time, and Bank of America chose that option on Jan. 3.
Where the citation asked if the bank possessed or controlled any of Carr's assets, senior operations representative Mary Kay Jones marked a heavy X on the No box.
Where the citation offered blanks for account balances, she wrote, "No accounts."
U.S. District Judge David Herndon sanctioned Carr last year for harassing Tillery, Katz and Sprong with lawsuits over fees from cases they started together.
Tillery, Katz and Sprong had asked Herndon to reimburse $1.4 million in legal fees and other costs from defending Carr's suits, but Herndon disallowed most of the request.
He enjoined Carr from suing Tillery, Katz and Sprong over fees again, anywhere.
Carr moved to reduce the judgment, pleading that misplaced reliance on former partners forced him to borrow millions.
He wrote that he borrowed all he could and cashed in all available assets including GI life insurance.
He wrote that at age 83, his life expectancy was 6.7 years.
He wrote that he must pay $34,710 a month on mortgages and secured notes.
He wrote that he pays $103,000 a year to carry $3 million in life insurance as security for loan payments.
He wrote that his home might have a value of $100,000 and two automobiles might have a value of $17,000.
He wrote that overall, he lost $275,000 the previous year.
He wrote that he received $2,752 a month from Social Security.
Herndon let the sanction stand.
Carr appealed to Fifth Circuit judges in Chicago, conceding he owes the judgment and promising to pay it if they let him sue
Tillery, Katz and Sprong one more time.
He wrote that they calculated his fee at $727,156.27 in the Clevenger case, $315,364.93 in Call v. Ameritech, and $12,776.46 in Little v. Brinker.
"Carr should have been paid all such fees promptly and without objection," he wrote.
"An action for a share of the fees in these three cases was never filed in any state court," he wrote.
Tillery, Katz and Sprong cross appealed, seeking the full amount they requested.
Tillery, Katz and Sprong face a Feb. 2 deadline for a response brief in Carr's appeal and an opening brief in their cross appeal.
Carr will face a March 4 deadline for a reply brief in his appeal and a response in the cross appeal.