The Kewadin Casinos Gaming Authority announced today that it has formally moved forward with its malpractice lawsuit against former legal counsel Patterson, Earnhart, Real Bird & Wilson LLP for its mismanagement of the casino’s legal dispute with former development partners JLLJ Development and Lansing Future Development II. Kewadin is represented by Daniel V. Barnett of Grewal Law PLLC and Lawrence J. Acker of Lawrence J. Acker, P.C.
The Patterson law firm had served as counsel for Kewadin Casinos from June 2020 to December 2022. The malpractice suit against the firm focuses on the later’s failure to properly defend Kewadin in the ligation related to two casino developments contracts.
“We have thoroughly reviewed the file and believe the actions taken by Kewadin’s former counsel did not meet even the lowest standards of practice. Kewadin had the right to be properly represented and it was not,” said Barnett.
The complaint against the Patterson law firm details several instances where its Colorado-based attorneys swore to their familiarity with Michigan law, yet mishandled the case, including:
- Failing to appear for an October 18, 2021 scheduling conference;
- Failing to abide by the Michigan Court Rules, which subjected Kewadin to a default, a default judgment, fines, sanctions, and attorney fees;
- Routinely failing to participate in discovery, despite the Circuit Court’s orders to the contrary;
- Failing to file a trial brief and witness list, which prevented Kewadin from calling witnesses at the trial on damages.
In April of this year, Kewadin Casinos reached a settlement with JLLJ Development and Lansing Future Development II totaling of $25 million. The agreement represented a roughly 75% reduction from the $88 million in damages Ingham County Judge Joyce Draganchuk had previously ordered that it pay. The agreement stipulates that Kewadin will also pay up to $10 million from the proceeds of its malpractice claim against the Patterson firm. If Kewadin is unsuccessful in its suit then it will pay its former development partners an additional $5 million in place of the $10 million.
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