A foreclosure claim was filed against The Rex Carr Law Firm of East St. Louis for allegedly failing to make payments on a $14,311 debt.
Associated Bank, National Association, filed the complaint on Jan. 27 against The Rex Carr Law Firm LLC, Rex Carr, by and through his personal representative Glenn Carr, unknown owners, unknown tenants, unknown spouses, unknown heirs and nonrecord claimants.
Famed attorney Rex Carr died in April 2015 at the age of 88 following a battle with cancer.
Associated Bank is represented in the case by John Mark Hons and the law firm Westminster Legal Group in St. Louis.
The four-count lawsuit includes claims and requests for mortgage foreclosure, suit on note and guaranties, unjust enrichment and appointment of receiver.
In its complaint, Associated Bank alleges the law firm obtained a mortgage loan for $250,000 in July 2013 for the property located at 412 Missouri Avenue in East St. Louis.
The bank alleges the defendants failed to make payments as they became due under the loan. Despite demands for payment, the plaintiff claims the defendants continue to refuse to make payments.
As of Jan. 24, Associated Bank alleges the defendants owe $14,311.65 on the loan, plus interest, costs, fees and advances, for a total of $15,739.55. The bank also seeks $4.07 per day in interest, attorney’s fees, costs and expenses.
The plaintiff also asks the court to issue an order approving the foreclosure sale and an order granting possession.
A prominent plaintiff attorney, Carr was remembered for his intimidating, but skilled courtroom presence and dozens of multi-million dollar awards.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Carr worked as a civil rights lawyer, fighting for equal rights for teachers and African Americans.
Carr’s accomplishments as an attorney earned him a spot in the Guinness Book of Records on three separate occasions.
In 1976, Carr’s personal injury case Hooks v ITT in Washington, D.C., involved a swimming pool accident and was named the largest personal injury verdict at the time. The jury awarded the plaintiff $7 million.
Then in 1981, his work with the Green v Alton Telegraph case in Madison County was named the largest libel verdict at the time.
In that case, two Alton Telegraph reporters allegedly received information linking real estate developer James Green to organized crime. The two reporters sent a memo detailing the allegations to a federal prosecutor on a strike force, who later sent the memo to federal bank regulators.
Green sued the newspaper and was awarded a $9.2 million verdict. The case was later settled for $1.4 million.
In 1988, Carr earned the title of “World’s Longest Civil Jury Trial” after Kemner v Monsanto in St. Clair County lasted a total of 44 months.
In that case, Carr represented 65 residents of Sturgeon, Mo., who were injured when a tank car spilled. The car was carrying a dioxin contaminant in the wood preservative.
Monsanto refused to settle, and a jury ultimately ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, entering a $16.25 million verdict. However, the appeals court later reduced the sum to $1 million.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 17-CH-74