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Seagal Out for Justice...in Court
For Steven Seagal, not even lawyers are above the law.
The aging action hero is suing his former law firm, claiming he was intentionally overcharged in a high-profile mob case.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleged Loeb & Loeb tried to fleece Seagal via a $1.1 million bill for services from March 2002 through August 2003. At the time, the Under Siege star served as a government witness in a federal grand jury proceeding, testifying that he was the victim of an extortion plot by a group of mobsters who demanded he make movies with them.
Seagal also appeared as a witness at the subsequent criminal trial of his ex-producing partner, Julius Nasso, who was a target of the FBI investigation and one of the principal behind the shakedown. Afterward, Seagal paid more than $500,000 to Loeb & Loeb. However, according to court documents, by July 2003 the ponytailed tough guy had "grown skeptical" about the work the firm performed and began to question its billing practices.
The complaint specifically cites invoices that did not include dates for the supposed services rendered, the name of the attorney, the amount of time worked or the hourly rates.
Seagal, 56, asserts that Loeb & Loeb failed to "seek his authorization for significant services or expenses" and provide him with sufficient information so he could evaluate said services.
The martial arts maestro claims he ultimately paid more than $500,000 for services that were worth substantially less.
His suit seeks more than $450,000 in general damages.
Jennifer Manton, Loeb & Loeb's chief marketing officer, issued a release saying that Seagal's suit is on shaky ground.
"Loeb and Loeb LLP successfully represented Mr. Seagal as a witness in an FBI/federal grand jury investigation in 2003, among other matters. After the matter was successfully resolved, Mr. Seagal ceased paying his bills," the statement reads.
"Loeb attempted to resolve this with Mr. Seagal through non-binding arbitration and a three-member panel of arbitrators, appointed by the Los Angeles Bar Association, ruled in Loeb's favor.
"We regret that Mr. Seagal continues to avoid paying his legal fees and look forward to resolving this issue in court where we expect the same outcome as in the arbitration."
The Seagal camp expects a drawn-out fight.
"I think this is something we're going to have to go to trial on. I don't think Loeeb & Loeb is prepared to do what's necessary and walk away from what it claims is still owed," says Bruce Meckler, Seagal's lead attorney in the case. "I think the $450,000 at this point is more than the value of the services that Loeb & Loeb should've performed here. I think Steven has overpaid at that amount and the $600,000 they're demanding is outrageous."
While he no longer commands the giant paycheck of his hit-making heyday in the early 1990s, Seagal still has a pretty good day job that should make sure his war chest is full.
Since the release of the box-office bomb Half-Past Dead in 2002, Seagal has spent his time starring in a dozen direct-to-video releases with titles like Today You Die, Black Dawn and Belly of the Beast.
Per the Wall Street Journal, Seagal also just sold a 995-acre northern California farm for $2.5 million. He used the location to grow a variety of plants and distill them to create a line of organic oil called Diamond Essentials. He'll continue with the oils business but wanted out of the farming operations, the newspaper reported.
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