To Be Sued for Barratry in Texas the Court Must Have Jurisdiction
Post 5050
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/gyqqF_6r ans at https://lnkd.in/gBxwZBCR, and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5000 posts.
A LAWYER WHO PAYS OR GIVES OR OFFERS TO PAY OR GIVE A PERSON MONEY OR ANYTHING OF VALUE TO SOLICIT EMPLOYMENT COMMITS BARRATRY IN TEXAS
A lawsuit that involved claims for alleged barratry and conspiracy to commit barratry filed by Appellants against the law firm McClenny Mosley & Associates, PLLC, Texas attorneys James McClenny and Zach Mosley, their Louisiana partner Richard William Huye, III, and Appellee Tort Network, LLC d/b/a Velawcity (“Velawcity”), an Arizona company that executed several Marketing Service Agreements with the law firm to provide advertising and marketing services. An appeal to the Court of Appeals of Texas involved the trial court’s order sustaining Velawcity’s special appearance and dismissing Appellants’ claims against Velawcity for lack of jurisdiction.
In Wayne J. Adams, Bonnie Brown, Claude Britton, III, Curtis Davis, Carey D. Yazeed, Dwane Borel, James S. Dartez, Lloyd Cox And Lynda I. Jenkins v. Tort Network, LLC D/B/A Velawcity, No. 01-24-00169-CV, Court of Appeals of Texas, First District (March 18, 2025) the trial court’s ruling was affirmed.
Background of the Case
The Appellants, who are Louisiana residents, alleged that following Hurricane Ida, they were solicited through an illegal barratry scheme that involved Velawcity and the law firm McClenny Mosley & Associates, PLLC (MMA). The Appellants contend that from December 2021 to August 2022, MMA entered into multiple Marketing Service Agreements with Velawcity to provide marketing services, which included prescreening potential clients for legal claims related to the hurricane.
The Appellants asserted that these contracts were executed in Texas and that Velawcity acted as an agent for MMA in soliciting clients unlawfully. They are seeking damages for four acts of barratry allegedly committed against each of them, totaling $360,000.
Jurisdictional Issues
The primary issue was whether the Texas courts have personal jurisdiction over Velawcity. The Appellants argue that Velawcity has sufficient contacts with Texas due to its contracts with MMA, which they claim involved the solicitation of clients in violation of Texas law. They assert that Velawcity’s actions constituted a tort committed in Texas, thus invoking the Texas long-arm statute. In contrast, Velawcity argues that its activities were primarily conducted in Louisiana and that it does not maintain any business presence in Texas, nor did it solicit clients for MMA in Texas.
Velawcity’s Defense
Velawcity filed a special appearance to contest the jurisdiction, asserting that it lacks minimum contacts with Texas necessary for the court to assert jurisdiction. It highlighted that the solicitation occurred in Louisiana and that the Appellants are also Louisiana residents. Velawcity emphasized that it had no physical presence or business operations in Texas, and that any communications regarding the contracts were not sufficient to establish jurisdiction.
Trial Court’s Ruling
The trial court ultimately sustained Velawcity’s special appearance, concluding that the Appellants failed to demonstrate sufficient contacts to establish specific jurisdiction in Texas. The court noted that while the contracts were significant, they did not connect Velawcity to Texas in a manner that would justify jurisdiction.
Conclusion
The court affirmed the decision to dismiss the claims against Velawcity for lack of jurisdiction, emphasizing that the alleged tortious conduct took place outside Texas and that the Appellants did not provide adequate evidence to establish a substantial connection between Velawcity’s activities and the operative facts of the case.
The Appellants’ claims against Velawcity were dismissed, leaving them to pursue their case against the other defendants, MMA and individual attorneys involved in the alleged Barratry scheme.
ZALMA OPINION
The suit against Velawcity would have had no jurisdictional difficulty if filed in Louisiana but the Plaintiffs could find no contact with Texas, that recognizes a Barratry tort, other than the fact that it signed a contract with MMA which practices in Texas. MMA has been sued multiple times, is in bankruptcy and there is a supposedly active FBI investigation into criminal conduct by MMA and its lawyers. The Plaintiffs, who are residents of Louisiana can be sued separately in Louisiana courts for their alleged misconduct.
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Insurance Expert May Not Testify to Speculative and Contains Unsupported Conclusions.
Posted on September 18, 2026 by Barry Zalma
See the full video at and at https://rumble.com/v7fmifw-expert-may-only-testify-to-what-experience-supports.html
In Michele A. Over, and The Estate Of Paul R. Over v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, and State Farm Fire And Casualty Company, Civil Action No. 23-cv-02243-PAB-STV, United States District Court, D. Colorado (September 14, 2026) Michele and Paul Over sued State Farm Fire and State Farm Auto over hail-damage and stolen-vehicle claims.
The operative dispute concerned State Farm Auto’s motion to exclude or limit opinions from plaintiffs’ insurance-industry expert, Aaron Castillo. Castillo.
Law
The proponent of expert testimony must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that an expert is qualified and that the opinions are helpful, sufficiently grounded, and reliably derived and applied. Experience-based opinions must explain how the...
150 Months in Prison for Tax Fraud
Post 4846
Posted on September 17, 2026 by Barry Zalma
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/g8rh3JBX and https://lnkd.in/gmkdy-9C, In United States Of America v. Thomas Addaquay, Nos. 25-10609, 25-10611, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit (September 9, 2026) the Eleventh Circuit affirmed all challenged convictions, the 150-month aggregate sentence, and the challenged $4,123,474.55 restitution award.
FACTS
In United States Of America v. Thomas Addaquay, United States Of America v. Thomas Addaquay, Nos. 25-10609, 25-10611, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit (September 9, 2026) the Eleventh Circuit affirmed all challenged convictions, the 150-month aggregate sentence, and the challenged $4,123,474.55 restitution award.
FACTS
Thomas Addaquay controlled United Consolidated Accounting and Business Services (UC), nominally a check-cashing business.
The government proved a three-stage tax-refund scheme that converted the resulting refund checks into usable funds through ...
Major Fraud Perpetrator Asserts Fifth Amendment Privilege to Avoid Prosecution
Post 5489
Posted on September 14, 2026 by Barry Zalma
Fraudster Refuses to Answer Questions About His Alleged Fraud
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/gvicAMDr and at https://lnkd.in/gvicAMDr
In Great American Insurance Co. v. Gemstone Property Management, LLC, et al., No. 23-cv-9100 (LJL), United States District Court, S.D. New York (September 8, 2026) Great American Insurance Company alleged that it was defrauded through a scheme in which Subin Associates, LLP recruited individuals to stage construction-site injuries, arranged unnecessary medical treatment and litigation funding, and pursued fraudulent personal-injury claims.
Luis Manuel Garcia Salcedo, resulted in a $6 million settlement. Non-party Jose Hernandez allegedly worked as an assistant manager at Subin, operated Hernandez Associates, and owned litigation-funding companies that shared office space with Subin and provided services to its clients.
After Great American ...
Inadequately Briefed Issues Defeats Appeal
Post 4852
Issues on Appeal Must be Adequately Briefed
Posted on September 25, 2026 by Barry Zalma
In Emy Ojekwe v. Connecticut Transit District Consortium, No. AC 47389, Court of Appeals of Connecticut (September 22, 2026) Emy Ojekwe alleged that he was injured on September 24, 2020, while leaving a bus operated by Connecticut Transit District Consortium, doing business as Greater Bridgeport Transit Authority.
According to his complaint, the wheelchair ramp began to rise before he had fully exited, causing his wheelchair to fall backward and allegedly injuring several parts of his body and damaging the wheelchair. The defendant denied negligence and alleged comparative negligence. After a two-day jury trial in November 2023, the jury returned a defense verdict.
The trial court denied Ojekwe’s motion to set aside the verdict and for a new trial, and he appealed.
LAW
A trial court’s refusal to set aside a verdict because of counsel’s improper remarks is reviewed for abuse of ...
Inadequately Briefed Issues Defeats Appeal
Post 4852
Issues on Appeal Must be Adequately Briefed
Posted on September 25, 2026 by Barry Zalma
In Emy Ojekwe v. Connecticut Transit District Consortium, No. AC 47389, Court of Appeals of Connecticut (September 22, 2026) Emy Ojekwe alleged that he was injured on September 24, 2020, while leaving a bus operated by Connecticut Transit District Consortium, doing business as Greater Bridgeport Transit Authority.
According to his complaint, the wheelchair ramp began to rise before he had fully exited, causing his wheelchair to fall backward and allegedly injuring several parts of his body and damaging the wheelchair.
LAW
Refusal to set aside a verdict because of counsel’s improper remarks is reviewed for abuse of discretion.
Appellate claims receiving only cursory treatment, without record citations, supporting authority, or legal analysis, are inadequately briefed.
DISCUSSION
Improper opening remarks.
Defense counsel referred to Ojekwe’s national origin,...
Psychiatrist Who Was Convicted of Fraud Asked the First Circuit to Reduce his Punishment
Post 4851
Posted on September 24, 2026 by Barry Zalma
Fraud to Private and Public Health Insurers Doesn’t Pay
In United States v. Gustavo Kinrys, Nos. 24-1592, 24-1716, United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit (September 21, 2026) Gustavo Kinrys, a Massachusetts psychiatrist, submitted fraudulent claims to private and public health insurers from 2015 through 2018, including bills for more than 1,000 sessions when he or the purported patient was outside the country. When insurers requested supporting records, he delayed through a fictitious office manager and created false documentation.
A jury convicted Kinrys on fourteen counts. The district court imposed a 99-month sentence, calculated intended loss at slightly more than $19 million based on billed amounts, ordered $6,537,309.59 in restitution, and ordered $6,527,391.19 in forfeiture.
At sentencing, the district court calculated Kinrys’s base offense level to be ...
