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Polous & Campbell
Attorneys at Law
September 18, 1996
Joseph V. O'Donnell
The Pilot Group
400 Commercial Street
P.O. Box 4901
Portland, Maine 04112
Mr. Poulos and I were shocked to learn recently that Mr. Steve Gordon purports to believe that we are still Mrs. Petit's counsel in the Key Bank litigation. Based on that assertion in his letter of September 10, 1996, Mr. Gordon made a series of libelous statements about us to your counsel, Steve Morrell, Assistant Attorney General Peter Brann and others. Through this letter, I hope to clarify matters and mitigate the damages he is causing.
As you know, this firm was constructivly discharged by Mrs. Petit in 1994 when she filed bankruptcy schedules stating she had potential malpractice claims against her former lawyers. Since then Mrs. Petit, through Mr. Gordon and others, has been openly antagonistic to Mr. Poulos and this office. Their has been not a hint of suggestion over that period that we are still representing her, nor could there be.
Further as you know, the pending claim against Key Bank constitutes property of the estate and, therefore, is and has been under the exclusive control of the Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 Trustees.. Previous to the bankruptcy, Mrs. Petit and her corporations were represented under separate contingency fee agreements with Looney & Grossman, Robert Axelrod and Poulos, Campbell & Zendzian.. None of these agreements was assumed by Peter Fessenden or you and therefore, they were rejected by operation of Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C. § 365(D)(I) nearly three years ago. Moreover, this firm was was never retained as counsel by Mrs. Petit as the Chapter 11 debtor, nor by Mr. Fessenden as the Chapter 11 Trustee. Likewise, you have never retained us as counsel for Mrs. Petit and her corporations in the pending Key Bank litigation, much less applied for approval to retain us as required by the United States Bankruptcy Code.
Indeed during the entire course of the Chapter II and Chapter 7 proceedings, Mr. Fessenden and you havie consistently allowed Ronald Caron, Esquire to act as counsel regarding that litigation. Mr. Gordon has also repeated represented in proposed plans of reorganization and disclosure statements that Mrs. Petit would be retaining counsel to pursue the Key Bank case. Neither Mrs. Petit nor Mr. Gordon have ever suggested, let alone discussed any such matter with us.
In these circumstances it is 1udicrous for Mr. Gordon to assert that, simply because there has been no formal withdrawal, therefore we are still counsel for Mrs. Petit and her corporations in the Key Bank case. Mr. Gordon is attempting to elevate form over substance in order to distract attention from the serious issues raised by Assistant Attorney General Brann.
Mr Gordon's libelous remarks are unfortunate and will be dealt with in due course. I just want to say for the record the history and status of these matters.
Let me know if you have any understanding or information to the contrary.
John S. Campbell
cc: Steve Gordon, Esquire Stephen G. Morrell, Esquire
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