Sometimes you think there are no twists and turns left in a story, then you find there are indeed.
Erik and Sean Ibarra filed suit Wednesday in a Harris County court, accusing Lloyd E. Kelley of breach of contract. The brothers are disputing the amount of expenses Kelley incurred and that he wants them to pay.
“They feel like they are being victimized by their own lawyer trying to charge more,” attorney Randy Sorrels said today.
Kelley said that he had not been served with the lawsuit and knew about it only because Sorrels, the brothers’ new attorney had called him.
The brothers received a $1.7 million settlement earlier this year. Kelley asked the court for $2.2 million in legal fees, but was awarded $1.4 million.
Kelley said he had $300,000 in expenses, but a judge approved only a reimbursement of $51,000. The remainder of the expenses, according to the contract signed by the brothers and Kelley, says the brothers must pay the expenses.
“I expect to be reimbursed, and I’m entitled to be paid from their settlement,” Kelley said. “When you’re getting $1.7 million for one night in jail, and one (brother) had two nights in jail, is phenomenal. They didn’t pay one dime over the last six years and they don’t want me to get reimbursed for those expenses. That is ingratitude.”
I figure if you were to walk past any of the offices of Sheriff, District Attorney, or County Attorney in the next couple of days, you might hear the sound of bitter laughter, perhaps mixed with the occasional choice obscenity, emanating from within. Stace has more.
UPDATE: A bit late, but here’s Mark Bennett’s take..