Law firm's suit claims former partner violated deal to pay $200K if appeals court ruled against him
A lawsuit by an Atlanta law firm claims a former partner violated a deal to settle prior litigation over his departure when he failed to pay $200,000 after an adverse appellate ruling.
The suit by Helms & Greene says the former partner, Kirk Willis, agreed to pay the money if the Georgia Court of Appeals reinstated a breach of fiduciary duty counterclaim by the law firm in Willis’ suit for unpaid salary and bonuses. The Daily Report (sub. req.) has a story on the new suit.
Steven Greene, the managing partner of Helms & Greene, says Willis violated the agreement when he sought review by the Georgia Supreme Court. “It was very clear that this was basically a bet on the Court of Appeals decision,” Greene told the Daily Report.
Willis was managing partner of Helms & Greene’s Dallas office when he left with most of the office’s lawyers and clients to form a new law firm. While he was working for Helms & Greene, legal documents allege, Willis also handled cases for his own separate practice and settled one case for $100,000.
Jurors awarded Willis more than $550,000 last September, and awarded Helms & Greene more than $105,000 on counterclaims apart from the fiduciary duty claim. The settlement deal was reached in November, and the Georgia Court of Appeals reinstated the fiduciary duty claim on July 9.
Helms & Greene claims breach of contract in the new suit, filed on Aug. 7.
