A recent Law 360 story by Aaron Keller, “Conn. Lawyer Says Colo. Companies Stiffed $107K Legal Bills”, reports that two Colorado companies, one of which purported to be working on a cryptocurrency exchange, stiffed a Connecticut attorney on legal bills and costs totaling nearly $107,000 in connection with representations in underlying securities lawsuits in Florida and Illinois, a new federal lawsuit alleges.
Edward Stone Law PC, a small Greenwich, Connecticut-based firm with a sophisticated niche practice in commercial litigation, insurance and pensions, says Net Savings Link Inc. and the China Food and Beverage Co. have both failed to pay legal fees and expenses connected with the two core matters. The defendants share the same Boulder, Colorado, address, according to a breach of contract complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, and they share James A. Tilton of Pennsylvania as president, according to several exhibits.
The complaint alleges that the two companies are jointly and severally liable for the sum in dispute. "Case is simple," attorney Eddie Stone said when contacted by Law360. "We provided legal services and despite numerous promises that our invoices would get paid — we got stiffed."
The first underlying matter dates back to April 27, 2021, in Florida, where the complaint says the Colorado companies racked up $25,530 in fees and costs. The firm's hourly fees were between $375 and $550 per hour, according to a retainer agreement filed as an exhibit. The retainer letter adds that the Florida dispute involved claims by Jake P. Noch and potentially by his company Pro Music Rights Inc.
The Florida matter referenced in the Connecticut complaint appears to be state court lawsuit, filed in Collier County on June 15, 2021. Noch sued Net Savings and Tilton for allegedly defaulting on a promissory note connected to an even earlier settlement of a $1.3 million dispute surrounding Noch's unpaid duties as the CEO of Net Savings. Net Savings allegedly promised to trade shares of its common stock to settle the debt but did not follow through because of a depository trust company chill on the necessary shares. Securities fraud was among the causes of action in Noch's Florida case.
The firm says its work included "drafting pleadings, participating in discovery, representing defendants at status conferences and representing defendants at mediation" before a federal magistrate judge. The defendants incurred $51,855 in legal costs under the same hourly rates referenced in the Florida matter, according to Connecticut court papers.
That number ballooned to $81,409 because of a 1% monthly interest fee contained in the underlying agreement, Stone alleges. The Connecticut complaint alleges two counts of breach of contract and an account stated claim that appears to have been pled in the alternative. Tilton is not named in the Connecticut complaint and is not a named defendant; his name appears only in retainer and billing agreements attached as exhibits. However, securities issues appear to have plagued him for quite some time.