A Texas attorney and his top-tier law firm, who face fraud claims from Colorado regulators, have been hit with a $103 million jury verdict in a related case in Mississippi.
Joel Held, a Dallas-based lawyer with the Chicago firm Baker & McKenzie, faced accusations including conspiracy and breach of contract from a Mississippi oil driller who had sought $150 million in damages. Held represented the driller, S. Lavon Evans Jr., and a Colorado businessman in a partnership that went sour.
Baker & McKenzie said it strongly disagrees with the verdict.
“We are confident we acted in a manner that was entirely consistent with our professional obligations and that no harm was done to the plaintiffs,” the firm said in a statement. “We will continue to argue our position vigorously and expect we will be vindicated.”
Evans said in his complaint that he met Held through Reed Cagle of Colorado Springs. Evans drilled for Cagle’s oil and gas ventures beginning in 1999, and the two later entered a partnership to build and operate drilling rigs.
Evans claimed that Held conspired with Cagle to withhold information and violate the terms of their contract, eventually driving Evans out of business. Cagle obtained a $7 million loan using a rig as collateral without telling him, Evans claimed. He didn’t contribute to the costs of building the rigs and sued him when he tried to dissolve the partnership, Evans said.
After reviewing Cagle’s books in 2007, Evans determined his partner was insolvent, his suit said.
Cagle was not named as a defendant in Evans’ suit.
The Colorado securities commissioner sued Held, Cagle and a group of companies and individuals last year, accusing them of selling or assisting in the sale of illegal securities through high-pressure tactics and misrepresentation.
Entities connected to Cagle have raised more than $300 million in at least 100 drilling joint ventures. More than 200 people fell victim to the alleged fraud, investigators have said.
Attorneys for the group have said the joint ventures are legal and that investments are not securities.
