Houston plaintiff lawyer John O’Quinn has been ordered to refund at least $35.7 million to more than 3,000 former breast implant litigation clients, according to an arbitration panel decision released today.
With interest and attorneys’ fees, O’Quinn could owe almost $60 million.
O’Quinn required his former clients to agree to mandatory arbitration (a money-saving option the plaintiffs’ bar wishes to preclude other businesses from using). “[I]mproper general expense deductions included professional association dues, flowers, fundraising, other lawyer’s fees, and overhead, the arbitrators said.” A dissenting arbitrator suggested that O’Quinn should also be liable for using money to fund a public relations campaign on his work. (Mary Flood, Houston Chronicle, Jul. 19).
Overlawyered broke this story Apr. 15, and had a followup post June 9.
Related posts
In arbitration; ethics; Houston; John O'Quinn
Thank you so much for bringing out the arbitration issue. Physicians have tried to have arbitration as part of their patient care contracts when entering into a new patient relationship and have consistently lost in court. I have always said, the only true way to solve the present tort legal crisis is for attorneys to get the full taste of their own medicine.