MIAMI — A Florida attorney is embroiled in a dispute over payment for legal services provided to a now-deceased NFL player.
Steve Marks, a lawyer with Podhurst Orseck in Miami, represented Kevin Turner, a running back who played for Philadelphia and New England, during the NFL's concussion lawsuit that resulted in a settlement of approximately $1 billion for more than 4,500 plaintiffs, according to the New York Daily News. Marks has made claims he is entitled to a piece of his estate settlement and past-due attorney's fees.
"To date, our firm has invested thousands of hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars in this litigation, but has not received a single penny in compensation,” Marks told the Florida Record.
Turner died in 2016 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Since then, there has been a large estate battle. With the Turner estate comes a large sum of money, some of which Marks expects to be paid, as noted by the New York Daily News.
The class-action motion filed on Dec. 14 in the Eastern District Court of Pennsylvania by Robert Penza, one of Turner's estate lawyers, is asking the judge to review the settlement benefits and make sure no one is double paid, the New York Daily News reported.
Marks said they "proudly represented Kevin Turner for more than four years, and that during that time we devoted extensive time and resources to his individual case."
"At the proper time, we will seek only a fair and appropriate fee for our work on behalf of both the class and our clients' individual cases,” Marks said.
Judge Anita Brody is expected to look over the motion early this year.
Marks was one of six attorneys who were class counsel in the concussion lawsuit and was entitled to a share of an attorneys' fees settlement fund negotiated as part of the overall settlement. Turner was a class representative when many concussion-related lawsuits against the NFL were consolidated.
"Under no circumstances will we seek a double fee; that will never happen,” Marks said.
"In addition, as class counsel, our firm worked tirelessly for the common benefit of the class, which included all retired NFL players,” he added. “Indeed, if the case had been dismissed or ended with a defense verdict, instead of this landmark settlement, we would have received nothing.”
Marks said he is confident the issue will be properly resolved.
Penza and his firm, Polsinelli, are working pro bono on the case, the New York Daily News reported. Raymond Turner, Kevin's father, told the Daily News that Kevin said to him the NFL would pay Marks and that he didn't want Marks to get anything from him.
"We're not giving (Marks) a dime. Kevin is not even going to get to see the result of this, but (his) kids are, and I want them to have what he wanted them to have. I don't feel good about paying (Marks) again," Raymond Turner said.