Ex-Client Sues Law Firm, Alleging ‘Gross Overpayment’ Of Fees in Funded Case

A disgruntled former client of a law firm in an international arbitration has claimed that the lawyers and the third party litigation funder involved in the case “decide[d] instead to represent their own pecuniary interests…mak[ing] a mockery of the fiduciary obligations an attorney owes to their clients,” according to reporting by Law.com.

In the petition filed in Harris County, Texas last Friday, the plaintiff claims that the defendants and the third party funder, Burford Capital, “colluded” to increase their potential “success return.” The plaintiff also claims that the defendants ignored the plaintiff’s express instructions about how to disburse the successful arbitration award, and instead relied on Burford to decide how those funds should be distributed. According to the plaintiff, Burford’s “erroneous allocation” “represented a gross overpayment to both Burford and the defendants.”