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Law firm finds itself on the defense

A former (1) client of Damon & Morey LLP is publicly airing complaints about the law firm.

The charges can be found on a Web site, in e-mails, on a since-removed Niagara Falls Boulevard billboard and in flyers being passed out around town.

Daniel Elia alleges that the Buffalo-based law firm is guilty of legal malpractice because it did not (2) disclose a conflict of interest when Damon & Morey represented both him, as a debtor, and one of his creditors in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. The former owner of the now-defunct D.A. Elia Construction Corp. in Niagara Falls also claims that the firm charged him "unreasonable" legal fees.

"We think this type of conduct is not good for our community and not good for the integrity of the legal system," said Elia, who has outlined his grievances on the Web site www.damon-moreymisconduct.com.
Damon & Morey's managing partner, Peter Marlette, said the courts found the conflicts of interest to be "insignificant."  (3)
"They are looking for a way to relitigate this matter that's been relitigated a million times," Marlette said of Elia and his brother, attorney David Elia, also a principal in the family construction company.

"They're grasping at straws." (4)
Elia claims that the firm disguised its conflict of interest by hiring two outside attorneys to represent a creditor, Construction Pace Setters Inc., and established the creditor's file under a different name, Cozad. He says an original fee estimate of $250,000 ballooned to more than $900,000 in actual charges.

Marlette said courts including the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of New York and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit have held that Elia's bankruptcy case was successfully completed and that Damon & Morey's legal fees were legitimate.

"Every single court that has ever looked at this case has completely absolved Damon & Morey of any wrongdoing -- in fact, they compliment Damon & Morey on the services provided to Elia," Marlette said. (5)
On Oct. 16, the law firm obtained a court order directing the Erie County Sheriff to collect $342,000 in legal fees from Elia. That money has since been collected, but Marlette was not sure whether previous outstanding legal fees from the firm's 14 years of representing Elia have been paid. (6)

"They're now trying to only cut out snippets of information (on their Web site) and take it out to the public and present a misleading story," Marlette said, noting that the firm is considering legal recourse. (7)

Elia countered, "When they disclosed (the conflict of interest), they didn't disclose it fully, which is unethical."
He said Damon & Morey partner William Savino's handling of the case ended a 40-year friendship between the two, and that he feels "betrayed."

He's seeking a jury trial in state Supreme Court to try the firm for legal malpractice, he said, because he doesn't "want this to happen to anyone else."
Marlette countered by saying the Elias have demonstrated "ridiculous, childish behavior." (8)

"It's just another one of their claims, and it will be shot down and thrown out of court exactly the same way every other single claim they've filed against us has been," he said. "As far as we're concerned, the courts have said this is over." (9)