Mark Perez, who received a historic $100M lawsuit towards Reside Nation, is now being sued by his former lawyer for added $5.5M in authorized charges.
A Lengthy Island man who was awarded a historic multi-million greenback verdict after fracturing his cranium years in the past is now duking it out along with his former lawyer over $5.5 million — as a result of the lawyer’s “greed is aware of no bounds,” new court docket papers allege.
Mark Perez was sued final month by his ex-attorney Benedict Morelli — who claims he’s entitled to the $5.5 million in authorized charges, on prime of the greater than $18 million Perez has already paid him, based on filings in Manhattan Supreme Court docket.
“I feel that attorneys needs to be paid nicely for his or her work, an individual like me wants them to battle for them however for Mr. Morelli to remove a lot of the settlement, it simply appears incorrect,” Perez not too long ago wrote to the decide that oversaw his private damage trial.
Perez, 38, initially acquired a $102 million jury verdict in 2019 after suing Reside Nation over a fall six years earlier that left him with a damaged cranium and needing a number of mind surgical procedures. A forklift had crashed right into a 10-foot tall sales space Perez was engaged on, sending him plummeting on the Jones Seaside Marine Theatre.
Perez and Morelli initially agreed that the notable private damage lawyer would get one-third of the award as a contingency charge. However when the decision went to attraction, Morelli repeatedly tried to barter a further 10-percent charge, whereas Perez sought to pay the lawyer an hourly price, based on Perez’s counterclaims to the go well with Morelli filed towards him final month.
Morelli saved working the case – regardless of Perez allegedly by no means signing an settlement over the extra charge – and finally secured his consumer a $55 million settlement with Reside Nation’s insurers exterior of the attraction court docket.
Ultimately, Perez solely acquired roughly $28 million from the settlement. The $5.5 million is being held in an escrow account whereas Perez fights for its return, along with the entire charges he paid Morelli.
“[Morelli] continues to insist that he needs to be paid $5.5 million for the post-trial and appellate work (on prime of the $18,333,333.30 that Mr. Perez has already paid in authorized charges), demonstrating that Morelli’s greed is aware of no bounds,” Perez’s countersuit alleges.
Within the letter to the decide, dated Dec. 9, Perez added, “I'm the one which lives with seizures, surgical procedures and the fixed worry of extra medical issues.
“I hope you'll be able to assist me now by deciding what needs to be accomplished right here. Thanks for listening to my trial. I’m trying ahead to shifting on and placing this final upsetting scenario behind me.”
Perez additionally claims Morelli put him in the midst of a charge dispute along with his first lawyer – a distant relative – inflicting a rift in his household. And Perez alleges that Morelli didn’t inform him about a number of prior settlement affords put up trial.
On Thursday, Morelli requested a decide to toss Perez’ counterclaims towards him, arguing that he by no means agreed to Perez’s proposed hourly pay price for the attraction work.
Morelli claimed that Perez “selected to stay silent,” in regards to the further 10-percent charge till the case had wrapped and the settlement was secured.
“Mr. Perez accepted the advantages of the agency’s work with respect to the attraction, didn't terminate the agency, and didn't ask the agency to cease engaged on the matter,” Morelli’s attorneys wrote within the Thursday submitting. “He selected to stay silent whereas the agency accomplished the attraction and thereby ratified the ten% charge settlement.”
The aftermath of Perez’s fall on June 26, 2013 left him needing full-time care and brought about him to lose his long-term relationship, Morelli instructed The Publish quickly after the decision.
Attorneys on each side declined to remark.
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