PITTSBURGH — An attorney is seeking damages, alleging he invested over 800 hours in a case and was not paid fairly for his work.
Rudy A. Fabian and Fabian Legal Services LLC filed a complaint on Feb. 14 in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County against Richard E. Shenkan and Shenkan Injury Lawyers LLC, alleging judicial estoppel.
Fabian is a resident of Allegheny County where his LLC -- Fabian Legal Services -- operates from its principal place of business. Shenkan resides and has a principal place of business in West Bloomfield.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff and defendant discussed working together in spring 2015. The plaintiff agreed to work with the defendant as an independent contractor and performed services from June 2015 through 2018. The plaintiff served as an attorney in a case known as the Maszgay case, to which he devoted half of the attorney hours, the suit claims.
In September 2018, the defendant allegedly received $2.92 million in attorneys fees from the case but did not disclose this information to the plaintiff. When addressed by the plaintiff, the defendant said he would not pay the plaintiff his portion of the balance until the end of 2018, the suit says.
When the plaintiff was paid, it was for approximately $30,000 for 827 hours the plaintiff worked, the suit says. The defendant retained $1.379 million for the plaintiff's work, the suit says. The defendant and plaintiff ended their working relationship in January 2019, the suit says.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff is still owed over $1.3 million for his portion of work on the Maszgay case.
The plaintiff is seeking payment of $1,334.522.75 for his hours worked; a jury trial is requested. The plaintiff is represented by Bernard Rubb of Bernard S. Rubb & Associates in Sewickley.