Ex-Client Disputes Kasowitz’s Claim for a $7M Success Fee
A former client of Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman says the law firm isn’t entitled to a $7 million success fee.
Duane Reade Holdings Inc. disputes the success fee claim in an answer to a lawsuit filed last month by Kasowitz Benson, the New York Law Journal reports. Kasowitz claims Duane Reade promised to pay 20 percent of any recovery above $4 million in litigation involving ATMs installed in its drug stores.
The litigation settled for an undisclosed amount without Kasowitz’s participation after Duane Reade’s general counsel left and was replaced by a former McKenna Long partner, the story says. Kasowitz estimates Duane Reade’s recovery to be at least $39.5 million.
Duane Reade denies it received that much, and says, in any event, there was no valid and enforceable agreement for a success fee, according to the story. The company contends Kasowitz has already been paid an amount “at least commensurate to, if not more than, the reasonable value of legal services rendered by Kasowitz.”
