Laurie Ann McRay, et al. v. Dow Golub Remels & Gilbreath PLLC
ERISA DueProcess
When a law firm sues its own clients, are the clients' Due Process rights violated?
QUESTIONS PRESENTED When a law firm sues its own clients, demanding an award for both alleged past-due attorney’s fees and then attorney’s fees for prosecuting the lawsuit against its clients, are the clients’ Due Process rights violated when the sued clients: (1) were denied the ability to retain substitute counsel, as well as adequate time for newlyretained counsel to prepare for the upcoming trial; (2) were denied the ability to present evidence, including expert testimony, defending against the law firm’s accusations and in support of the clients’ counterclaims; and (3) were ultimately ordered to compensate the law firm for “prosecutorial attorney’s fees” that were never paid by the law firm but were instead complimentarily provided by the law firm’s legal malpractice carrier, resulting in a windfall to the suing law firm?