By the time this article is published, a federal judge has already ordered the eviction of one Houston car accident attorney, but that attorney says the city is still paying him.
In September 2016, the Houston Police Department and the Houston Fire Department sued Houston-based attorney Joseph J. Mays, who specializes in bankruptcy and bankruptcy proceedings, for allegedly evading more than $10 million in debts.
The city had accused him of fraud and breach of contract.
In March 2018, a U.S. District Judge denied Mays’ bid to have the lawsuit thrown out.
But a new trial has been scheduled for June, and Mays says he’s still owed about $8 million.
According to his attorney, Mays received $11.8 million from the city when the trial began in October.
He says he expects to be able to collect $12 million if the trial goes ahead.
The lawsuit alleges that in April 2018, Mains was charged with fraud and breached contract and violated the Houston Municipal Code by failing to pay $8.3 million in restitution to the city.
The lawsuit also says that Mains’ lawyers failed to appear in court for the first trial.
Mays says in court filings that the city’s investigation into the matter was “stolen from him.”
“In the absence of the City’s evidence, Mr. Mains cannot even reasonably believe that he is being targeted for fraud or for breaching his contract,” the lawsuit says.
“He does not feel that he has a fair trial,” he added.
The city has not yet responded to a request for comment from CNN.
In response to Mays claim, Mares attorney David Roush said that his client has not received any money from the City of Houston, but has been told he can collect the remaining amount from the attorneys for his bankruptcy.
He added that he had no knowledge of the amount owed to the City.
“This is all speculation,” Roushe said.
“I don’t know what they owe me.”
A spokeswoman for the Houston City Council told CNN the council has no comment on the matter.
