Ethicon Media Monitoring 6/16/17

Client Attorney Privileged/Attorney Work Product/At Request of Counsel

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1. Ex-Client Sues Blasingame Burch Over Pelvic Mesh Deal

   Jun 15, 2017 | Law 360

   By Abraham Moussako
   
   
   A woman who took a $300,000 settlement over alleged injuries from a pelvic mesh product is now suing Blasingame Burch Garrard & Ashley PC, claiming she was coerced and misled into taking the deal, in part due to the firm's claims about how the settlement would affect a personal bankruptcy.

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Client Attorney Privileged/Attorney Work Product/At Request of Counsel

Online Sources

1. Ex-Client Sues Blasingame Burch Over Pelvic Mesh Deal

   Jun 15, 2017 | Law 360

   By Abraham Moussako

   Law360, New York (June 15, 2017, 5:20 PM EDT) -- A woman who took a $300,000 settlement over alleged injuries from a pelvic mesh product is now suing Blasingame Burch Garrard & Ashley PC, claiming she was coerced and misled into taking the deal, in part due to the firm's claims about how the settlement would affect a personal bankruptcy.
   
   Danna Morrison sued Blasingame Burch in Tennessee state court in May, alleging the firm committed legal malpractice in representing her in mesh-related legal claims. The lawsuit, which was removed to federal court on Wednesday, alleges the firm pushed Morrison to settle for $300,000. She also alleges that while undergoing bankruptcy proceedings, the firm misrepresented to her the effects of the settlement on her bankruptcy, again in an attempt to make her take the offer.
   
   “The defendant told the plaintiff that representatives of the defendant law firm would get her bankruptcy trustee to settle the case and she would lose everything, not receiving anything from the settlement and further told her ... she was not eligible to have a trial,” the complaint reads.
   
   Morrison hired Blasingame Burch to represent her after she had complications from a pelvic reconstruction surgery during which mesh products were used. The complaint notes the products that are alleged to have contributed to the complications were “believed to be manufactured and distributed by Covidien, C.R. Bard” and other companies.
   
   In late 2015, Morrison alleges, her firm advised her to accept a $325,000 settlement offer from the mesh maker in question, not identified in the complaint, even though she preferred to go to trial, as she believed she could recover a higher amount from a trial verdict.
   
   After filing the mesh liability lawsuit, Morrison also had a personal bankruptcy due to medical bills. Blasingame Burch, after informing the bankruptcy trustee of the settlement, informed her that she could appeal to a bankruptcy special master for a higher settlement amount, continuing to push back against her desire to go to trial.
   
   The firm also deceived Morrison as to the procedures at issue, the complaint alleges. Among other issues, it claimed that if she refused the settlement, the special master could force her to accept it. The firm also allegedly told her that she would not be able to appeal to the special master, and that if she did not settle, the trustee would settle claims anyway. Several scenarios presented by the firm made it appear as if not taking the offer would lead to her losing some or all of the money offered, the complaint alleges.
   
   Based on these claims, Morrison alleges, she chose to settle for about $300,000. She did not find out about these misrepresentations until hiring a bankruptcy attorney in May 2016, who informed her that the bankruptcy trustee would not have taken the settlement, and that the trustee did not have the authority to force her to accept a settlement, according to the complaint.
   
   The complaint alleges five counts of professional negligence and seeks unspecified damages. Blasingame Burch subsequently sought to have the case removed due to diversity jurisdiction, as it is based in Georgia, according to the removal notice.
   
   Counsel for Blasingame Burch declined to comment on Thursday, while counsel for Morrison was not immediately available for comment.
   
   Morrison is represented by Michael E Richardson of Tidwell Izell & Richardson.
   
   Blasingame Burch Garrard & Ashley is represented by Andrew J Godbold and William E Godbold III of Leitner Williams Dooley Napolitan PLLC.
   
   The case is Morrison v. Blasingame Burch Garrard & Ashley PC, case number 1:17-cv-00165, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.
   
   --Editing by Breda Lund.

   https://www.law360.com/productliability/articles/934813/ex-client-sues-blasingame-burch-over-pelvic-mesh-deal
   

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