The harsh world of legalities must be all too familiar for Hulk Hogan, but this time the semi-retired pro-wrestler has decided to sue the professionals whose job it was to stand up for him.
Hogan filed a lawsuit in the Pinellas County on Monday against two attorneys, Morris “Sandy” Weinberg Jr. and Lee Fugate, of the firm Zuckerman Spaeder LLP, with claims that the men (who defended him and son Nick Bollea following Nick’s 2007 car crash) for cheating him out of over $1.5 million.
According to the suit, Hulk’s automotive insurance company Progressive was obligated to cover all necessary legal costs, however the lawyers named allegedly failed to notify him of this and continued to bill at excessively high rates. Hulk also claimed that Progressive attempted numerous times to communicate with him over the incident, but the Zuckerman Spaeder legal team did not make him aware of their letters. By the time he understood his entitlements, he claims the relationship with the insurers had been “terminated.”
“It is common knowledge throughout the legal profession experienced in such matters, especially in the area of insurance defense litigation and personal injury law, that automobile insurance policies include the aforementioned duty to defend the insured, as well as any permissive user, should a civil suit arise or the possibility of a civil claim exist,” the lawsuit stated. “Defendants made no effort to advise of this important fact. Defendants were further aware, or should have been, that Bollea had no experience in the area of insurance.”
“The charges made by Terry Bollea are simply baseless. The Bollea’s came to Zuckerman Spaeder under very difficult circumstances. Both Terry Bollea and his son faced the threat of criminal prosecution and civil litigation. Zuckerman Spaeder, working with a co-counsel, achieved a very favorable result in the criminal case,” a rep from the firm told Tarts in a statement. “We absolutely dispute and will contest the claims made against us.”
But on the note of Nick Bollea’s tragic accident, the now 24-year-old John Graziano, who was in the passenger seat of Bollea’s vehicle at the time, was finally released from the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital last Wednesday, over two years after the incident. Graziano suffered severe brain damage, reportedly leaving him in a vegetative state.
(source)
