PITTSBURGH – A Pittsburgh city employee has filed a professional liability suit against his former lawyers in Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas over allegations it mishandled his lawsuit over a road rage incident.
On May 19, Lamont Johns filed suit against Ronald J. Bua & Associates as well as P. William Bercik over allegations of negligence and breach of contract.
Johns was an Allegheny County Assessment Office employee when he was involved with a road rage incident with a man in 2011 in Pittsburgh, the suit says. The encounter resulted in Johns getting shot in the leg and groin area, the suit says. Johns hired Bua & Associates and Bercik to represent him in 2013 in the matter, the suit says.
Johns alleges that the defendants filed a complaint on his behalf against Baker Young Corp. and the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh but failed to file a lawsuit against State Security and/or a security guard only identified as Novosel in the suit. His claims against Urban Redevelopment Authority were struck with prejudice; that’s when he alleges discovered his legal team didn’t file the claims against State Security and/or Novosel and they were time-barred. A January trial was returned in Baker Young's favor, the suit states.
The suit states Johns worked in a building owned by the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh. Baker Young was also a security services contractor for the building.
On March 7, 2011 Johns alleges he left the building for lunch when his car was almost hit by a vehicle driven by David Bush, who had violated a stop sign.
Johns alleges he got out of his car to assess the damage and Bush got out of his car and attempted to fight him. Bush allegedly pulled out a gun.
The plaintiff alleges at the time of the incident, a State Security guard Novosel was at the security booth of the Technology Park where Johns worked and was stationed 50 feet away. Novosel allegedly witnessed the entire incident and was aware that Johns worked at Technology Park and knew that Bush didn’t. Novosel also allegedly saw Johns leave the scene and Bush follow him into the Technology Park lot.
Bush allegedly approached the security guard area and asked for Johns' license plate number and Novosel allegedly instructed Bush to call the police. Bush allegedly left the security guard area, but not the building, and later confronted and shot Johns as the plaintiff returned to work.
Johns requests a jury trial and judgment in excess of the court's jurisdictional limits. He is represented by Brendan B. Lupetin of Meyers Evans Lupetin & Unatin of Pittsburgh.