A Connecticut law firm claims Flint Law Firm of Edwardsville breached a fee contract involving a minor’s injury suit that resulted in a $1 million settlement.
Attorney George Ripplinger filed the complaint on behalf of law firm Jazlowiecki & Jazlowiecki LLC. The suit was filed in Madison County Circuit Court against Ethan Flint, Flint Law Firm LLC and Ketchmark & McCreight LLC.
According to the complaint, Jazlowiecki & Jazlowiecki was retained by client Melissa Horn on Jan. 23, 2017, to represent her minor child, Deacon Horn, for unspecified injuries. Jazlowiecki & Jazlowiecki claims it referred the case to Flint Law Firm in March 2018.
The two firms allegedly agreed that Flint Law Firm would retain 60 percent of the attorney’s fees and Jazlowiecki & Jazlowiecki would receive the remaining 40 percent.
The suit states that Flint Law Firm then referred the case to the Kansas City law firm Ketchmark & McCreight. Jazlowiecki & Jazlowiecki claims it was not a party to the contract between the other two firms.
Ketchmark & McCreight settled Horn’s case in April 2020 for $1,015,350. The firm collected $323,288.86 in attorney’s fees and $245,152.84 in court costs. Jazlowiecki & Jazlowiecki received $46,193.21 in attorney’s fees, but claims it should have received at least $129,315.54.
“$245,152.84 is an extraordinary amount of expenses for a case that does not proceed to trial and some expenses seem excessive,” Ripplinger wrote.
Jazlowiecki & Jazlowiecki seeks a judgment for the additional $83,122.33 it claims it is owed.
Madison County Circuit Court case number 22-LA-1063