Litigation Funder Sues PI Lawyer Despite Boyhood Friendship
The story of boyhood friends who became business partners in adulthood should be a sweet one. But the business relationship between personal injury lawyer Sean Callagy and litigation funder Legal Capital Group—run by George Prussin—has definitely gone sour. Legal Newsline reports that LCG is suing Callagy for over $18MM for loans totaling less than $600,000, which were received in 2013. Some of the loans carried a compounded interest rate of nearly 90% per year. Another carried a lower interest rate in exchange for a percentage of payouts in the event of a win. Prussin lent funds to Callagy under multiple business entity names. The funds were intended to help Callagy pursue litigation, including a long and complicated case involving a 2006 plane crash in Russia. Callagy also represented Prussin in multiple cases involving litigation funding, including accusations of fraud. The Law Funder, one name Prussin used while making loans, is listed as the funder for Wilfredo Garcia. He’s perhaps best known for starting a law firm without a law degree. After the crash of Siberia Airlines Flight 778, Garcia amassed 50+ clients for a class action, which he then traded to other lawyers in exchange for a large cut of the contingency arrangement. By the time the case settled, the Prussin-funded suit’s payout was set upon by creditors, Garcia’s ex-wife, and the IRS. Callagy’s firm has offices in Texas, New York, New Jersey, and elsewhere. Promising to ‘change the way people feel about lawyers.’ Meanwhile, LCG was counting on large payouts in several of Callagy’s cases, which did not materialize. The case between Callagy and Prussin is scheduled for a jury trial later this year.