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(Reuters) - Arent Fox has urged a federal judge in Washington, D.C. not to throw out a lawsuit seeking attorneys' fees from a former client, blaming "administrative oversights" for months of inaction on the docket after the complaint was filed in May.
In a filing on Wednesday, the Washington, D.C.-based law firm defended the lawsuit and said it was not part of any campaign to harass or threaten former client Ohemo Life Sciences Inc, which had hired Arent Fox for intellectual property work last year. The firm said it's been in negotiations with Ohemo about resolving the dispute.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper last week directed Arent Fox to tell him why the case should not be dismissed for failing to show Ohemo had been served the complaint within a mandated 90 days.
Arent Fox sued Puerto Rico-based Ohemo to recoup more than $202,000 in allegedly unpaid legal bills for patent and trademark legal services. The firm said it provided counseling on unspecified Ohemo products.
Plaintiffs must show a complaint has been served on a defendant within a certain time frame based on federal court rules. Failure to properly serve a defendant can jeopardize a lawsuit.
Arent Fox pointed to "administrative oversights on its part based upon excusable neglect" in not obtaining and filing a timely waiver from Ohemo or otherwise showing proof that the company had been served.
"Simply put, this is not a case in which a plaintiff filed a lawsuit to harass or intimidate, or which is adversely affecting judicial economy due to plaintiff's failure to prosecute," Arent Fox partner Jackson Toof said in Wednesday's court filing. "It remains plaintiff's hope that this case can be resolved without any substantial, future judicial involvement."
Toof did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. No defense lawyer has entered an appearance for Ohemo. A message left with the company on Thursday seeking comment was not immediately returned.
Arent Fox said it appeared Ohemo had received an email asking the company to waive service of a summons, but it did not receive a physical envelope containing various court papers, including the complaint.
On July 6, the firm received a "heavily damaged envelope" that had been sent to Ohemo. The firm was in contact by email and telephone with Ohemo since the lawsuit was filed, Toof said, "in an effort to resolve this dispute."
Toof told the judge that "the parties have already made progress in their negotiations."
Settlements are common in lawsuits from firms demanding legal fees, as lawyers balance between compensation for services and any potential business consequences arising from suing a client.
The case is Arent Fox v. Ohemo Life Sciences Inc, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, No. 1:21-cv-01345-CRC.
For the plaintiff: Jackson Toof of Arent Fox
For defendant: Unknown
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