NEW York-based Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP has filed a civil complaint in Superior Court against Imperial Pacific International LLC for nonpayment of legal services.
HHR, represented by attorney Richard Miller, sued IPI for breach of contract, breach of implied contract, quantum meruit, and unjust enrichment.
HHR is requesting $8,583,158.54 in compensatory damages from the court. It is also asking for an award of reasonable attorney’s fees and costs to the extent recoverable, and other relief.
According to the complaint, HHR, starting in April 2021, represented IPI and certain other affiliated entities in varied legal matters, among them Pacific Rim Land Development LLC v. IPI; Wang et al. v. Gold Mantis et al., USA Fanter v. IPI, United States v. Pride Keen et al., Gray v. IPI, U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division v. IPI, and Commonwealth Casino Commission v. IPI.
HHR said it represented IPI and provided legal services, “including without limitation by drafting and filing pleadings, motions, and other court filings, conducting legal research, preparing for and attending hearings, communicating with IPI, courts, and third parties regarding those matters, reviewing discovery, court filings, and other case materials.”
“The terms of IPI’s engagement of HHR are set out in a series of engagement letters from HHR to IPI, including letters dated April 13, 2021; May 10, 2021; May 18, 2021; May 31, 2021; October 14, 2021; January 27, 2022; February 20, 2022; and December 13, 2022,” the lawsuit stated.
In January 2022, IPI agreed to make $200,000 in monthly payments from December 2021 through November 2023, the lawsuit stated.
Later, because of the addition of new matters and the increased amount of legal fees incurred by IPI, the amount of monthly payments that IPI was required to pay HHR increased from $200,000 to $250,000, in addition to a one-time payment of $150,000 due on Jan. 17, 2023, the lawsuit stated.
“As reflected in all the various engagement letters, IPI agreed to pay and reimburse HHR for costs and expenses incurred by HHR in representing IPI,” the lawsuit added.
“But despite its clear obligations under the various engagement letters and despite repeated requests from HHR, IPI did not make any $200,000 or $250,000 monthly payment to HHR from December 2021 to the present,” the lawsuit stated.
“Nor did IPI ever make the promised $150,000 payment, due on January 17, 2023.
“The total amount of legal fees, costs, and expenses incurred by HHR in representing IPI in the matters identified above that remains unpaid is $8,583,158.54,” the lawsuit stated.
IPI has never raised any dispute as to any invoice issued by HHR, the lawsuit said.
