PHILADELPHIA (September 26, 2008) –Thomas More Marrone and Thomas Martin of Feldman Shepherd have negotiated a $2 million settlement against the client defendants in a Dragonetti action that is pending in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.  The case, Winner Logistics, Inc. v. Labor & Logistics Management, Inc., et al. is pending before Judge Mark I. Bernstein, and will continue to proceed against the lawyer defendants, Joseph Bubba, Esquire,  Nancy Conrad, Esquire, and the law firm of Fitzpatrick, Lentz & Bubba, P.C. 

Thomas More Marrone said that his client Winner Logistics is “relieved and gratified that their nightmare is beginning to end.  It’s tough enough to get a business up and running under normal circumstances without the crippling burden of having to defend a vindictive, frivolous lawsuit.”

Marrone brought the lawsuit under Pennsylvania’s wrongful use of civil proceeding statute, known as the Dragonetti Act, on behalf of Winner Logistics, Inc.  Winner had successfully defended a frivolous lawsuit over an alleged restrictive covenant agreement and alleged trade secrets.

Winner Logistics is a truck driver leasing company founded by David Wallover and Curt Roble after Labor & Logistics Management, Inc. (“LLM”) fired Wallover because he refused to sign a restrictive covenant.  Despite the fact that there was no restrictive covenant, LLM retained Fitzpatrick, Lentz & Bubba and together they filed a multi-count complaint accusing Wallover and Winner Logistics of, among other things, breach of a restrictive covenant, misappropriation of trade secrets, and fraud.  Fitzpatrick, Lentz & Bubba and LLM served their legal papers upon Winner Logistics and Wallover the day after Thanksgiving, 2003. 

Winner retained Martin to defend it. Although Martin repeatedly warned the Fitzpatrick, Lentz & Bubba attorneys of the consequences of filing and continuing a lawsuit that had no basis in fact or in law, they nevertheless persisted.  According to an internal memorandum, LLM’s President Curt Ball wanted to “make an example” of Wallover.  The lawsuit against Winner and Wallover lasted more than two years before finally being decided by the Superior Court, which issued an opinion in January of 2006 holding that under “clear” “established precedent” Winner and Wallover had a right to compete. 

Although Winner ultimately prevailed in the underlying lawsuit, the effect of the lawsuit was financially devastating, and Winner filed a Dragonetti action against the law firm Fitzpatrick, Lentz & Bubba, attorneys Joseph Bubba and Nancy Conrad, and their client LLM and its President, Curtis Ball. 

In May of this year, Judge Bernstein entered summary judgment on liability in favor of Winner Logistics and against LLM and Curtis Ball, stating “It is precisely this mindless abuse of legal process that the Dragonetti statute was enacted to deter.”  Ball and LLM then agreed to participate in a non-binding mediation before former United States Magistrate Diane Welsh of JAMS.  After several sessions with the mediator, on September 25 the parties settled the case for $2 million, the liability limits of LLM’s commercial liability policy.  LLM and Ball also agreed to withdraw its Superior Court appeal over allegedly confidential documents, and to turn those documents over to Winner Logistics.

In granting summary judgment, Judge Bernstein also determined that LLM and Ball had no probable cause and were grossly negligent in pursuing their lawsuit against Winner Logistics and Wallover.  According to Marrone, Winner’s Dragonetti case will now continue against Fitzpatrick, Lentz & Bubba, Joseph Bubba, and Nancy Conrad.

For further information contact Thomas More Marrone at Feldman, Shepherd, Wohlgelernter, Tanner, Weinstock & Dodig, 215-567-8300 or tmarrone@feldmanshepherd.com.

Feldman Shepherd Wohlgelernter Tanner Weinstock & Dodig has handled cases producing some of the largest verdicts and settlements in Pennsylvania. The firm represents plaintiffs in significant personal injury, class action, and other complex civil litigation. Clients include victims of medical malpractice, defective products, unsafe workplaces, motor vehicle accidents, legal malpractice and insurer misconduct. For information, go to www.feldmanshepherd.com.