Plaintiffs in suit that led to Chuck Rosenthal's resignation sue lawyer Lloyd Kelley over fees and expenses

The two brothers who filed a civil rights suit against Harris County, which led to Harris County District Attorney Charles Rosenthal’s resignation in February, filed a breach of contract suit against their lawyer on Oct. 15, alleging he has failed to give them more than half of a $1.7 million settlement. Erik and Sean Ibarra filed the suit in state district court in Houston against Lloyd Kelley, of Lloyd E. Kelley & Associates in Houston. In the original petition in Erik Ibarra, et al. v. Lloyd E. Kelley, the Ibarras allege Kelley has only paid them $400,000 each from the $1.7 million in settlement money from Harris County and refuses to turn over the rest of it. They allege that even though U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt of Houston awarded Kelley $1,411,630 in attorney’s fees and $51,684 in expenses -- Kelley had asked Hoyt to approve $133,760 in expenses -- he’s asked them to cover $256,311 in expenses. “Plaintiffs believe this fraudulent effort to recover additional expenses in addition to his fee of $1,411,630 is a breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract and an effort to defraud and steal from the plaintiffs,” the Ibarras allege in the suit. “They felt they were being victimized again,” says the Ibarras' new attorney, Randall Sorrels, a partner in Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels & Friend of Houston. The Ibarras allege the additional expenses include $95,000 for a “known business associate” of Kelley’s for jury consulting and $20,000 to a community activist to organize a courthouse rally. The Ibarras allege that because of Kelley’s breach of fiduciary duty, he should also forfeit his fees to them under the Texas Supreme Court’s 1999 decision in Burrow v. Arce. The Ibarras also allege the “new, outrageous” expenses are fraudulent, Kelley’s conduct was negligent and grossly negligent, and he violated Rules 1.01, 1.04 and 8.04 of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct. They seek actual and punitive damages and fee forfeiture. Kelley says the expenses are legitimate and his clients are responsible for them under their contract. He says the $95,000 for the “known business associate” is Houston lawyer Tammy Tran, of the Tammy Tran Law Firm, who worked on the litigation, and the $20,000 is for Houston activist Quannel X, who assisted with jury selection. Neither Tran nor Quannel X could be reached for immediate comment. Rosenthal resigned after discovery in the civil rights suit revealed racist and sexist e-mails on his work computer.
-- Brenda Sapino Jeffreys