Attorney Joseph Larry Katz's Legal Cases

Construction and development

Fast Food Arbitration

Jun 25, 2014

OUTCOME: Favorable Award

A client approached me with a difficult dilemma - a complicated, oral agreement to build a fast food joint which had gone sour, leaving him holding the bag to the tune of over $100,000. While he certa ... inly had mechanic's lien rights he could exercise, it would be tough to prove entitlement given the poor record-keeping that occurred. We also knew that the other side, while hotly disputing that any money remained due and owing, really did not want a public records lien filing, as they needed to keep a squeaky clean litigation track record for continued financing for other projects. We filed a notice of mechanic's lien, prepared and forwarded a draft of the lien petition we intended to file, and at the eleventh hour convinced the other side to agree to binding arbitration, loser pays fees. They agreed, and we won, including our attorney's fees (something they would not have been entitled to in a mechanic's lien proceeding). A true win-win for my client!

Construction and development

Mechanic's Lien

Oct 16, 2013

OUTCOME: Successful settlement

In my experience, mechanic's lien cases are usually short and sweet - after filing the Petition to Establish and Enforce, the owner will generally want to settle for all or nearly all my client is seek ... ing. Recently, however, I was involved in a mechanic's lien proceeding in which the owner's lawyers - a national organization using a national law firm - made a strategic decision to drag the case out as long as possible, trying to make my client bleed attorney's fees and drop the case. First, they removed the case from state to federal court. After contentious arguments utilizing a unique approach which was written in to the lien petition, I succesfully had the case remanded back to state court, making new law in the process. However, that still did not bring it it to a quick conclusion. While a lien proceeding is ordinarily on a fast-track to trial, the owner's lawyers insisted they needed close to a year to prepare, and were willing to waive "their" right to a speedy trial, and the judge agreed with them! I had to bring the case to the attention of the administrative judge, who held that Maryland law requires that both the initial hearing and final trial take place in a speedy fashion, and that those safeguards are for the benefit of the subcontractor, not the owner. The case was then specially assigned to a visiting judge who would not be bogged down with other cases on his docket, for the express purpose of resolving our case quickly. When the owner and its lawyers realized that this case was going to be getting special attention and they could not work the system to delay it a year or more, they quickly settled with us for the majority of my client's claim.

Government contracts

GAO Protest/Reimbursement of Protest Costs

N/A

OUTCOME: Protest Succesful; Attorney's Fees Reimbursed

My client, although the low bidder on a service contract for the Department of Veteran Affairs, was passed over for award of the contract. Rather, it was awarded to the local, incumbent contractor who ... had maintained the contract for at least the previous ten years, if not more. I filed an initial protest with a request for production of documents, the agency responded, and, ultimately, I filed an additional two supplemental protests based on documentation produced by the agency. Finally, the agency relented and indicated they were going to take "corrective action" and re-issue the solicitation (which, incidentally, my client won). After the notice of corrective action, I filed a request for attorney's fees, which the GAO granted on account of the "clearly meritorious" protest grounds. Literally, a win-win for my client. The decision can be found here: http://www.gao.gov/assets/590/585884.pdf

Joseph Larry Katz's Legal Cases (3)

Fast Food Arbitration

Mechanic's Lien

GAO Protest/Reimbursement of Protest Costs