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HomeMy WebLinkAboutContract 45287 CITY MCRETARY cONTRACT NON W!VIVIVNPiuu,,1.;. r ,irrumw. WilwrrrnNOm a omvwd' ., ;, �v„,�„i 41G RALPH K MCONS CANTEY HANGER PLAZA DIRECTS "EST 6TH STREET SUITE 300 EMAIL.RDUGGINSPCANTMANGER.COM FORT W RTHt TEXAS X6102"368,, 817x$77.2800- MET , �14m978.4199 �X-87,,877,2807 December 2013 Fort Worth Housing Finance Corporation c Tomes Higgins Genera, Manager 1000 Throckmorton Street, Fort Worth, Texas 76102 Attention.� Sarah J. Fullenwider, City Attorney Ladies and Gentlemen.- Thank you for contacting me ("Attorneys"'), about pursuing claims age nst Chesapeake Exploration, L.L.C. .its affiliates, ("Chesapeake"') and Total E & PUSA, Inc. and its affiliates ("Total") for underpayment of royalties due under various o as gas oil d1% leases to which the Fort r h Housing Finance Corporation and The Vivas ot Eastwood TerracQ, LLC (collectively as, "FWHFC,") are Lessor and Chesapeake and/or Total are Lessee or successor Lessee, We agree to represent the FW`HFC must Chesapeake and Total for the purpose of recovering any underpayment of royalties under the Leases and otherwise pursuing rights FWEFC has or may have under those same Leases on a contingency tee basis. You agree that we do not and cannot aran ee a successful outcome of any claim.1 While we plan to vigorous,ly prosecute any clefs FWHFC may have, you also ael owledge that the Attorneys have little control over the administration by a court of its docket and that dockets are generally crowded. In consideration of the legal services to be rendered to, FWHFC by the Attorneys FWHFC assigns and grants to the Attorneys as, fees 33-1/3% of any and all am,oun s or value received by FWHFC, whether by way of settlement, or judgment from a court. In addition, F' F agrees pay from its portion �any recovery the costs and expenses w r° include filing w w incurred y Attorneys.e„ s. These nclude fees, court costs, deposition costs, costs for testifying and consuiting consulting experts, discovery, ana as ma e calculation costs, c 1py ng costs 0 per page), and Attorneys' travel expenses Because the claims against, ,Wu 11IRRR H F'FICIAL RE"CORD ECORD CITY SECRETARY H I TX A L L i6i,S F 0 R'V WO F'11­1 I-)IJ,I L A K E FTe WORTH,T'X M MERITAS LAW RRMS INORLDWIDE RECEIVED Fort Worth Housing Finance Corporation December 19,2013 Page 2 of 3 a d Total are claims for which a court may award attorneys' fees, if attorneys f��s arc awarded and are groater than the amount owed under this contingency fee arrangement., F C agrees to pay the attorneys the amount awarded by the court and collected as the attorneys' fees for the 1e a1 services rendere,d in lieu of one-third of any and all amounts, or value received by FW 'C. In lieu of the proposed, contingency fee arrangement, you understand that Attomeys could have been hired on an hourly basis and that an, engagement on an hourly basis would have required payment of fees regardless of whether or; not FWHYC is successful M' the pursuit of its clan"n s, and that a contingency fee, if owed, may result in the payment of attorneys' fees that are greater than those that would have been paid i£t:h.e, matter had been handled on an hourly basis. Any offers of settlement will be promptly communicated to FVdVC and no settlement of FW1UC's claims will be made without FW]UCIs prior approval., FWBY C may discharge us as attorneys, at any time. However, 'if FWBTC elects to discharge us as attorneys, it agrees that Attomeys will retain an 'Interest "in FWHFIC's claims as set for-th 'in paragraph 1, provided we have not been discharged for malfeasance oar negligence that materially damaged FWBEFCs c,lfu'ms. FWWC acknowledges it has a copy of the Texas Lawyers Creed and,understands M, that Attomoys, are committed to abide by that Creed. The State of Bar investigates and Prosecutes professional misconduct by Texas attomeys, Although not every complaint or dispute with an attorney 'involves profess�on,al misconduct, the Office of General Counsel of the State Bar,will provide infonnation on how to file a complaint. Please call 11080011M 93249001 for more "information. FWHFC agrees to cooperate with the Attorneys by making staff familiar with- the # A I those Leases, and the paym, ent of royalties and records pertaining to mose matters available to M, Attorneys upon reasonable notice. Please remember that most communications between City officials and the-, Aftorneys, relating to the, claims against Chesapeake an,d Total are confidential and protected from disclosure by the attorney-client pn"vilege. That privilege can potentially be lost, and some or all communications between us may be discovered, if 4 the communications are discl osed to a,third party. Under Texas and Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Rules of Evidence, it is ^ critical to preserve potentially relevant intormation once, litigation is reasonably anticipated 'or commenced because the failure to comply with those, rules can have dire 11 Fort,wortb Housing Fmance Cor 'Poration Dewcem,ber 19,2013 page 3 of 3 consequences (including sanchtionas rangins from monetary penalties to rauch more severe penalties,, including dismissal of the acfion)� If it has not already done so, it is essenual ft i t that FWHFC immedi-ately preserves until further notice any mformation pertamo, any, of the leases at issue, Including all external or internal communications coneerni those leases.1 In the event you, have not already 'issued a litigation hold 'in this, matter, we request that you immediately do so. As p&rt of that hold, please take care to discontinue any routine deletion or archival processes that might inadvertently delete or destroy any electronic or other mfomation. Pleas,e let me know if you would like assistance institutm` g a lid gation hold. FW,BFC agre,es that,Attorneys' conununicafions,with FWIWC with respect,to this matter shall be made, through Sarah J. Fullenwider, City Attorney, and/or Gerald Pruit� Deputy City Attorney. FNNWC ag=s that Attorneys may!,, at tbr sole discretion, engage or employ other attorticys, 'including John Cardwell, to, work with Attornoys "in connection with the ongagement. Attorneys agree that all fees, and expenses owed, to such attorneys, A, V, I including jonn Cardwell, will be the sole re-sponsi"bility of, Attorneys and, that FW1W--C shall have no responsibility whatsoever Br such fees or expenses., This Agreement contains all of the terms of the financial arrangement between, FWBFC and the Attomeys and can only be modified by a,w ' n, document signed by an authorized representative of FWHFC and by the Attorneys. The engagementis effective October 1, 2013. 4 V'M 0 Fort Worth Housing P,inance Corporation A r Ak U01 H. Dilggiis Tom Higgins 11talp, General Manager Al dash and legi .:10 ......... Sara, Fullenwider Attorney wuwNh Lftl 00 uwwm by* 0 00 OW ,I OFFICIAL RECORD Y C mmy jo .. .. CITY SKRETAR D y ity 0 TX Me WORTHs