Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 03 Approval of Contingency Fee Agreement oC[)?e hand© AGENDA ITEM COVER SHEET Meeting Date: September 17, 2019 Item # 3 Reviewed By: Contact Name: Scott Cookson, City Attorney Department Director: Contact Number: 407-581-9800 City Manager: Rob Frank Subject: Approval of Contingency Fee Arrangement with Romano Law Group, Schochor, Federico and Staton, PA, Osborne & Frances, Michael Kahn, PA, and Spangenberg Shibley & Liber, LLP for representation of the City in connection with claims for damages related to opioid drugs (subject to City Manager and City Attorney negotiating and clarifying portions of the Agreement) Background Summary: The Applicant Team, identified as the Romano Law Group, Schochor, Federico and Staton, PA, Osborne & Frances, Michael Kahn, PA, and Spangenberg Shibley & Liber LLP, has offered to represent the City on a contingency fee basis for the recovery of claims for damages sustained by the City related to the manufacture, distribution, and sale of opioid drugs. A Contingency Fee Agreement with the Applicant Team ("Agreement") has been presented to the City; however, the Agreement requires additional negotiation and clarification. Once the Agreement is negotiated and final, the City Manager will request the Mayor to sign the Agreement. The City will not pay any fees or costs relating to this litigation; the litigation costs are initially fully funded by the Applicant Team. There will be some staff time involved in completion of questionnaires and other correspondence with the Applicant Team. If the litigation is successful, the Applicant Team's fees and costs are paid out of any recovery of damages the City incurs. If the litigation is not successful and there is no recovery of damages to the City, the Applicant Team is not reimbursed any amount by the City. Issue: Should the Honorable Mayor and Board of City Commissioners authorize the City Manager and City Attorney to negotiate and clarify portions of the Agreement and authorize the Mayor to sign the Agreement once it is finalized by the City Manager? Recommendations: It is staff's recommendation that the Honorable Mayor and Board of City Commissioners authorize the City Manager and City Attorney to negotiate and clarify portions of the Agreement and authorize the Mayor to sign the Agreement once it is finalized by the City Manager. Attachments: Contingency Fee Agreement with Romano Law Group, Schochor, Federico and Staton, PA, Osborne & Frances, Michael Kahn, PA, and Spangenberg Shibley & Liber, LLP. Financial Impact: There is no cost to the City unless the Applicant Team makes a recovery of damages on behalf of the City and then the Applicant Team's payment comes out of such recovery. Type of Item: (please mark with an "x") Public Hearing For Clerk's Dept Use: Ordinance First Reading X Consent Agenda Ordinance Second Reading Public Hearing Resolution Regular Agenda X Commission Approval Discussion& Direction Original Document/Contract Attached for Execution by City Clerk Original Document/Contract Held by Department for Execution Reviewed by City Attorney N/A Reviewed by Finance Dept. N/A Reviewed by 0 N/A CONTINGENT FEE RETAINER AGREEMENT CITY OF OCOEE This Contingent Fee Retainer Agreement ("Agreement") is made this day of , 2019, by and between the CITY OF OCOEE, FLORIDA ("City") and ROMANO LAW GROUP; SCHOCHOR, FEDERICO and STATON, P.A.; OSBORNE & FRANCIS; MICHAEL KAHN, P.A.; and SPANGENBERG SHIBLEY & LIBER, LLP ("Applicant Team"). WHEREAS, the Applicant Team proposes to represent the City in connection with claims for damages arising out of the manufacture, distribution and sale of opioid drugs ("Opioids") against Purdue Pharma L.P. ("Purdue") and other defendants ("Claims"); and WHEREAS, the City has agreed to retain the Applicant Team in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. NOW, THEREFORE, this Agreement provides as follows: 1. The City hereby retains the Applicant Team to represent the City in connection with the Claims. 2. The Applicant Team will provide such first-rate legal services as may be required in order to bring about a resolution of the Claims. Such services may include inter alia: investigating the merits of the Claims; drafting and filing a Complaint; handling all pre-trial, discovery and motion proceedings; retaining expert witnesses; trying the case; and briefing and arguing any appeal. 3. The Applicant Team will advance the full cost of any expenses necessary or required to be incurred in connection with this matter, without contribution from the City except as set forth herein. 1 IPage8 4. Payment of a contingent legal fee ("Contingent Fee") and reimbursement of all expenses incurred on behalf of the City and paid by the Applicant Team shall be the City's sole obligation to compensate the Applicant Team in this matter, except as indicated in paragraph 7. 5. The Contingent Fee shall be payable by the City to the Applicant Team in accordance with the following schedule: a. Ten percent (10%) of the gross amount recovered if the Claims are settled prior to filing a Complaint. b. Twenty percent (20%) of the gross amount recovered if the Claims are settled prior to the first day of trial. c. Twenty-two and a half percent (22.5%) of the gross amount recovered after a trial on the merits. d. Twenty-five percent (25%) of the gross amount recovered after any post- judgment appeal.. In no event will the Contingent Fee payable to the Applicant Team exceed that which is permissible under the Florida Bar rules. The payment of fees as outlined above is entirely contingent upon the Applicant Team recovering money for the City. If the Applicant Team makes no recovery for the City, then the City will not be responsible for paying any fee to the Applicant Team. 6. In addition to the Contingent Fee payable pursuant to paragraph 5 of this Agreement, the City shall reimburse the Applicant Team out of the gross amount recovered the full amount of all expenses incurred on behalf of the City and paid by the Applicant 2IPage8 Team in connection with this matter. The City is not responsible for advancing any costs for this litigation. If the Applicant Team does not make any recovery for the City, then the City will not be responsible for reimbursing the Applicant Team for any costs incurred by the Applicant Team in prosecuting this case. 7. In the event the City terminates this Agreement prior to any recovery on account of the Claims and subsequently recovers any amount on account of such Claims, the City agrees to compensate the Applicant Team for those fees permitted under Florida law and reimburse the expenses the Applicant Team incurred on behalf of the City in accordance with the terms of paragraphs 6 of this Agreement. 8. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of the State of Florida. 9. It is expressly agreed that this Agreement represents the entire agreement between the City and the Applicant Team, that all provisions and understandings between the parties are merged in this Agreement, and that no modification of this Agreement shall be valid except by a writing signed by all parties. 10. In the event that the court or arbitrator requires another party to the litigation (or its counsel) to pay attorneys' fees and/or costs to the City and/or the Applicant Team, such award will not affect the amount the City is obligated to pay the Applicant Team under this Agreement. If such award is less than the amount that the City is obligated to pay the Applicant Team under this Agreement, then such award will be credited toward the total amount owed under this Agreement, and the City will be responsible for paying the balance to the Applicant Team out of the gross recovery. If such award is greater than the amount the City is obligated to pay the Applicant Team 3IPage8 under this agreement, then the Applicant Team will be entitled to the amount awarded by the court or arbitrator, and the City will not owe the Applicant Team any fee. On behalf of the CITY OF OCOEE, I have, before signing this contract, received and read the Statement of Client's Rights, and understand each of the rights set forth therein. I have signed the statement and received a signed copy to keep for reference while being represented by the Applicant Team. This contract may be cancelled by written notification to the Applicant Team at any time within three (3) business days of the date the contract was signed, as shown below, and if cancelled, the City shall not be obligated to pay any fees to the Applicant Team for the work performed during that time. If the Applicant Team has advanced funds to others in pursuing this case, the Applicant Team is entitled to be reimbursed for such amounts as it has reasonably advanced on the City's behalf. The City acknowledges, understands and agrees to all the terms of this agreement. CITY OF OCOEE, FLORIDA By: Name Title IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the hands and seals of the parties hereto as of the day and year first above written. CITY OF OCOEE, FLORIDA By: Name Title SCHOCHOR, FEDERICO AND STATON, P.A. By: Name Title 4IPage8 ROMANO LAW GROUP By: Name Title OSBORNE & FRANCIS By: Name Title MICHAEL KAHN, P.A. By: Name Title SPANGENBERG SHIBLEY & LIBER, LLP By: Name Title 5IPage8 STATEMENT OF CLIENT'S RIGHTS Before you, the prospective client, arrange a contingency fee agreement with a lawyer, you should understand this Statement of your rights as a client. This Statement is not a part of the actual contract between you and your lawyer, but as a prospective client you should be aware of these rights: 1. There is no legal requirement that a lawyer charge a client a set fee or a percentage of money recovered in a case. You, the client have the right to talk with your lawyer about the proposed fee and to bargain about the rate or percentage as in any other contract. If you do not reach an agreement with one lawyer, you may talk with other lawyers. 2. Any contingency fee contract must be in writing and you have three (3) business days to reconsider the contract. You may cancel the contract without any reason if you notify your lawyer in writing within three (3) business days of signing the contract. If you withdraw from the contract within the first three (3) business days, you do not owe the lawyer a fee, although you may be responsible for the lawyer's actual costs during that time. If your lawyer begins to represent you, your lawyer may not withdraw from the case without giving you notice, delivering necessary papers to you, and allowing you time to employ another lawyer. Often, your lawyer must obtain court approval before withdrawing from a case. If you discharge your lawyer without good cause after the three (3)day period, you may have to pay a fee for work the lawyer has done. 3. Before hiring a lawyer, you, the client, have the right to know about the lawyer's education, training and experience. If you ask, the lawyer should tell you specifically about his or her actual experience dealing with cases similar to yours. If you ask, the lawyer should provide information about special training or knowledge and give you this information in writing if you request it. 4. Before signing a contingency fee contract with you, a lawyer must advise you whether he or she intends to handle your case alone or whether other lawyers will be helping with the case. If your lawyer intends to refer the case to other lawyers, he or she should tell you what kind of fee sharing arrangement will be made with the other lawyers. If lawyers from different law firms will represent you, at least one lawyer from each law firm must sign the contingency fee contract. 5. If your lawyer intends to refer your case to another lawyer or counsel with other lawyers, your lawyer should tell you about that at the beginning. If your lawyer takes the case and later decides to refer it to another lawyer or to associate with other lawyers, you should sign a new contract which includes the new lawyers. You, the client, also have the right to consult with each lawyer working on your case and each lawyer is legally responsible to represent your interests and is legally responsible for the acts of the other lawyers involved in the case. 6. You, the client, have the right to know in advance how you will need to pay the expenses and the legal fees at the end of the case. If you pay a deposit in advance for costs, you may ask reasonable questions about how the money will be or has been spent and how much of it remains unspent. Your lawyer should give a reasonable estimate about future necessary costs. If 6IPage8 your lawyer agrees to lend or advance you money to prepare or research the case, you have the right to know periodically how much money your lawyer has spent on your behalf. You also have the right to decide, after consulting with your lawyer, how much money is to be spent to prepare a case. If you pay the expenses, you have the right to decide how much to spend. Your lawyer should also inform you whether the fee will be based on the gross amount recovered or on the amount recovered minus the costs. 7. You, the client, have the right to be told by your lawyer about possible adverse consequences if you lose the case. Those adverse consequences might include money which you might have to pay to your lawyer for costs and liability you might have for attorney's fees to the other side. 8. You, the client, have the right to receive and approve a closing statement at the end of the case before you pay any money. The statement must list all of the financial details of the entire case, including the amount recovered, all expenses, and a precise statement of your lawyer's fee. Until you approve the closing statement, you need not pay any money to anyone, including your lawyer. You also have the right to have every lawyer or law firm working on your case sign this closing statement. 9. You, the client, have the right to ask your lawyer at reasonable intervals how the case is progressing and to have these questions answered to the best of your lawyer's ability. 10. You, the client, have the right to make the final decision regarding settlement of a case. Your lawyer must notify you of all offers of settlement before and after the trial. Offers during the trial must be immediately communicated and you should consult with your lawyer regarding whether to accept a settlement. However, you must make the final decision to accept or reject a settlement. 11. If at any time you, the client, believe that your lawyer has charged an excessive or illegal fee, you, the client, have the right to report the matter to The Florida Bar, the agency that oversees the practice and behavior of all lawyers in Florida. For information on how to reach The Florida Bar, call 1-850-561-5600, or contact the local bar association. Any disagreement between you and your lawyer about a fee can be taken to court and you may wish to hire another lawyer to help you resolve this disagreement. Usually fee disputes must be handled in a separate lawsuit. CITY OF OCOEE, FLORIDA By: Name Title 71Page8 SCHOCHOR, FEDERICO AND STATON, P.A. By: Name Title ROMANO LAW GROUP By: Name Title OSBORNE & FRANCIS By: Name Title MICHAEL KAHN, P.A. By: Name Title SPANGENBERG SHIBLEY & LIBER, LLP By: Name Title 81Pa7e8