It seeks damages of at least US$300 million for alleged breaches of US federal law
This week, Ford Motor Company has filed a complaint in a federal court in Los Angeles accusing numerous California-based lawyers and law firms of fraudulently overbilling legal fees under the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act.
This state legislation, which serves as California’s Lemon law, entitles lawyers to legal fees based on the reasonably incurred time that they have spent acting for vehicle owners, according to a Reuters article.
Reuters reported that the multinational automobile manufacturer’s complaint claimed that Knight Law Group, a law firm based in Los Angeles, spearheaded the scheme and sometimes invited other firms to bring in 10 to 15 lawyers to overstaff cases.
Ford’s complaint against nine defendants alleged multiple instances of lawyers billing over 24 hours on a single day, Reuters noted. In one example, Knight Law Group partner Amy Morse allegedly billed 57 and a 1/2 hours – including 12.9 hours on requests for admission – on Nov. 30, 2016.
The complaint alleged that another lawyer billed 29 hours on one day to prepare for, travel to, and attend a trial near San Francisco and another trial around 400 miles away in Los Angeles, Reuters said.
In its complaint, Ford dubbed these instances of inflated legal fees a “magical mystery tour” of fraudulent work and time entries, which were distributed over thousands of lawsuits against various automobile manufacturers so that they would escape unnoticed, Reuters added.
The complaint claimed that Ford lost at least US$100 million over five years due to the scheme, Reuters’ article said. Ford requested damages of at least US$300 million for alleged breaches of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, a US federal law.
