Shutts & Bowen and partner Kevin Cowan are fighting an antitrust lawsuit with a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim. The Am Law 200 firm and its Miami partner are among 14 defendants, including Hinshaw & Culbertson attorney Steven Carlyle Cronig, in a suit by investors alleging they rigged bids in a real estate deal.
Their motion is the latest in a heavily litigated case by JAWHBS LLC and affiliate SLS Properties Three LLC, a lender, according to an article originally reported by GlobeSt.com sister publication, ALM's Daily Business Review. The article says that the companies claim the attorneys swindled them on the purchase of a nearly 1-acre site adjacent to Miami's nearly $1.1 billion Brickell City Centre project. They allege lawyers colluded with rival buyers to stifle competition in a bankruptcy sale and acquire the real estate well below market value.
“SLS Properties' claim fizzled Aug. 4 when U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles ruled that only trustees, not creditors, could assert claims for alleged antitrust violations. The judge found the second plaintiff, JAWHBS, had standing to sue, but ordered it to streamline the allegations in its complaint. On Aug. 25, JAWHBS filed a third amended complaint, which prompted Cronig to submit a pending joint request to file a supplemental motion to dismiss. Shutts and Cowan followed with their own motion on Sept. 14,” the article says.
“Federal courts have consistently rejected claims like these against attorneys who merely provided legal advice to a client and are now being sued by parties they never dealt with, much less provided legal advice to,” according to Shutts, which called the allegations “illogical, self-contradictory and utterly implausible.”
Shutts argues the latest version of JAWHBS' complaint fails to set out a plausible claim against the firm.
“A non-party to an agreement between bidders—had one been properly alleged—and a stranger to any sale cannot be liable under” Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, the firm states in the dismissal motion pending before Gayles.
The suit stems from Shutts & Bowen's work for real estate investor Jorge Arevalo, and Cronig's representation of developer Watson Investigations LLC.
Click here to read the full article on ALM's Daily Business Review.
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Their motion is the latest in a heavily litigated case by JAWHBS LLC and affiliate SLS Properties Three LLC, a lender, according to an article originally reported by GlobeSt.com sister publication, ALM's Daily Business Review. The article says that the companies claim the attorneys swindled them on the purchase of a nearly 1-acre site adjacent to Miami's nearly $1.1 billion Brickell City Centre project. They allege lawyers colluded with rival buyers to stifle competition in a bankruptcy sale and acquire the real estate well below market value.
“SLS Properties' claim fizzled Aug. 4 when U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles ruled that only trustees, not creditors, could assert claims for alleged antitrust violations. The judge found the second plaintiff, JAWHBS, had standing to sue, but ordered it to streamline the allegations in its complaint. On Aug. 25, JAWHBS filed a third amended complaint, which prompted Cronig to submit a pending joint request to file a supplemental motion to dismiss. Shutts and Cowan followed with their own motion on Sept. 14,” the article says.
“Federal courts have consistently rejected claims like these against attorneys who merely provided legal advice to a client and are now being sued by parties they never dealt with, much less provided legal advice to,” according to Shutts, which called the allegations “illogical, self-contradictory and utterly implausible.”
Shutts argues the latest version of JAWHBS' complaint fails to set out a plausible claim against the firm.
“A non-party to an agreement between bidders—had one been properly alleged—and a stranger to any sale cannot be liable under” Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, the firm states in the dismissal motion pending before Gayles.
The suit stems from
Click here to read the full article on ALM's Daily Business Review.
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Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
