Attorney Nugent: Case not on my radar

ALBANY — After offering the disclaimer “I can’t say a lot — and it would be unprofessional of me to do so — about a case that’s pending,” “celebrity attorney” Ken Nugent pauses for a moment.

Then he offers a somewhat surprising response to a question in that familiar New York accent that proclaims Nugent’s tagline — “One call, that’s all” — a phrase that is known across the state.

“That case is an unfortunate one, but I’m sure it will be resolved in an amicable fashion,” Nugent says. “But frankly, right now, it’s not even on my radar.”

The case referenced by the Atlanta-based attorney is one in which he, one of his firm’s attorneys, Christopher Warren, and Nugent’s law firm were charged in Dougherty Superior Court with conspiracy, violation of the state’s RICO Act, fraud, breach of fiduciary duties, civil theft, professional negligence and several other claims.

According to court transcripts, the charges against Nugent stem from a case involving an automobile accident in which James McGrady, an employee of the city of Smithville, failed to yield at a stop sign at the intersection of Georgia Highway 3 and Livingston Road while working for the city on Jan. 14, 2011. The city vehicle he was driving, a Ford Econoline van, slammed into Alexandra Myles’ Ford Expedition while traveling of a speed of around 60 mph.

Myles, seeking damages for the medical costs associated with the wreck and, according to court documents, enticed by television advertising for the Nugent Law Firm, sought to hire Nugent to handle her personal injury claim.

According to court documents, over the next two years Myles never met Nugent, had only one face-to-face meeting with Warren, who was working as an attorney in Nugent’s Albany satellite office, and when she finally did meet with Warren — after several attempts to contact him — was told (erroneously, it turned out) that the two-year statute of limitations had run out on her case.

Warren, though, according to court documents, encouraged Myles to accept a $10,328 settlement offer after he apologized for allowing the statute of limitations to run out in the case. Further court documents show that the Nugent firm actually accepted the settlement offer, even after Myles said she would not accept it, and had someone endorse Myles’ name on the check made out to “Alexandra Myles & her attorney Kenneth S. Nugent.” The check was then, documents show, deposited in the firm’s escrow account.

In an amended complaint for damages and relief on Myles’ behalf, Cohilas referred to the Nugent firm as a “settlement mill” and a “dumping ground for thousands of personal injury clients, such as the plaintiff, who are harvested through fraudulent advertising and other deceptive means.” In court documents, Cohilas referred to Nugent’s methods as a “bait and switch scheme.”

Nugent, in town last week for the Manna After Michael event at which he sponsored and helped distribute thousands of meals prepared by Albany restaurateurs B.J. Fletcher, who is an Albany City Commissioner, and Sarah Edmonds, to volunteers who have worked in the community in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, said he was surprised to read a detailed article about the case in The Albany Herald.

“Judge (Stephen) Goss did not issue a gag order in that case, but it was clear to me that he did not expect the attorneys to try the case in the media,” Nugent said. “I was surprised that opposing counsel (Cohilas) discussed the details of that case with your newspaper. I would have expected him to adhere to the judge’s wishes.

“That’s an unusual case, and some pretty serious allegations were made. But it’s not something that’s at the top of my mind at this time. It’s going through the appellate process right now, and I really don’t see where it would do me any good to respond to what the opposing counsel has said.”

New York native Nugent made waves in the Peach State when, in 1989, he started advertising his services across the state, a practice that had long been disdained by attorneys in the state even after the Supreme Court ruled that such practice was indeed legal.

“A lot of bar associations got upset and I was the subject of a number of personal affronts, but what I found was that there was a great outpouring of interest (in the services Nugent’s firm provided) in small towns like Thomaston and Thomasville,” Nugent said. “You have to remember, too, that a lot of people thought the legal community was in cahoots, so there was a need for an ‘outsider.’

“By advertising — and telling the people that I worked under a contingency, that I would not get paid until they got paid — a lot of lower-income people who’d always been told that they couldn’t afford an attorney now had someone to represent them. These are people — many who were afraid to file lawsuits — who found they had someone to fight for them.”

Nugent’s Atlanta-based firm was so successful, he branched out with Georgia offices that now include Albany, Valdosta, Augusta, Macon, Savannah, Columbus and north Fulton County.

“I’ve been in Albany 10, 15 years now,” he said. “I bought that building (at 208 N. Westover Blvd.) and employ 12 people in the community. I feel like we’re part of southwest Georgia. That’s why I’m here today (sponsoring and handing out meals), lending a hand to people in this area who were devastated by this tragic hurricane.

“I would think that, with all that the people of this community and this region have been through, there would not be a lot of interest in a lawsuit like this right now. The facts of that case will come out in court. I’m in Albany right now not as another lawyer seeking publicity but as someone who is concerned about the continued well-being of this community.”

Herald File Photo