Jury Awards $1M to East Amherst, NY, Fire Company for 'Deceit' by Former Law Firm

To one member of the Swormville Fire Company, the potential $1 million in damages the organization won following a drawn-out court fight with its former law firm is not justice.

But it is vindication.

Swormville Fire Company on Transit Road in Clarence was awarded up to $1 million in damages over a long-standing legal dispute.

A State Supreme Court jury deliberated for about an hour before finding the former HoganWillig law firm had engaged in "attorney deceit," among other misconduct, while representing the volunteer fire company in East Amherst and Clarence.

"We had six strangers tell us we weren't wrong, that we've been right for many years," said Stephen Moeller, a Swormville board member and former president. "To be honest with you, it's kind of a dry topic. It wasn't sexy and exciting. It isn't corruption at a strip club, or anything like that. But it is attorney deceit and attorney deception. And, frankly, that's the kind of stuff that the public needs to know about."

The jury verdict and award came just days after HoganWillig suffered a setback in its own lawsuit against the fire company. The firm was seeking tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees its lawyers said they were owed, but appellate judges agreed with a lower court that HoganWillig wasn't entitled to this money.

Steve Moeller (copy)

Stephen Moeller, a board member of the Swormville Fire Company, said the public needs to know about "attorney deceit."

Swormville had hired HoganWillig to pursue compensation from the firms responsible for the "defective" design and construction of a new fire hall.

HoganWillig became Tiveron Law following the suspension of the law license of the firm's founder, Corey Hogan, in an unrelated matter. Managing partner Diane Tiveron defended the firm's work and denied HoganWillig lawyers engaged in wrongdoing.

She said the firm planned to appeal the jury award and to ask the judge to set aside the verdict.

"We feel that it's not supported by the evidence that was presented, and it certainly flies in the face of all the work that was done for the Swormville Fire Company by HoganWillig," Tiveron said in an interview.

Fractured relationship

Swormville sought legal help after members said they found serious problems with their new, 17,000-square-foot fire hall, at 6971 Transit Road, soon after it opened in 2004.

The fire company pointed to a leaky roof, a firewall that wasn't up to code and a concrete truck bay floor that didn’t cure properly.

Swormville leaders sought legal help in pursuing claims against K2M Architects, which designed the structure, and Picone Construction Corp. of Clarence, the builder. Both companies denied claims of improper work.

Swormville board members turned to Steve Cohen, an attorney and company member, who, in 2007, filed a complaint seeking $1.26 million in damages, plus interest. Two years later, the Lorenzo & Cohen law firm merged with HoganWillig.

As The News previously reported, fire company officials said the suit over the years passed through various HoganWillig lawyers and paralegals, who presented invoices that lacked specifics. Swormville officials said they suspected HoganWillig was stringing them along to run up their bills.

HoganWillig offered to discount its fees by 50%, but the firm's lawyers came to feel nothing they did satisfied the fire company.

"We couldn't settle it for a number that didn't make sense, given the condition of the building," Hogan said last week. "The last thing we wanted to do was drag it on. We also didn't want to go to court and lose the case."

This came to a breaking point at a 2015 meeting, where HoganWillig attorneys grew annoyed when questioned by fire company leaders about the case's readiness for trial.

The lawyers left the meeting and sent a letter the next day defending their work on the case but saying their relationship with Swormville's leadership had “irretrievably broken down.”

"It would have been unethical for us to continue representing them," Hogan said recently. "You can't have a client that thinks you're a liar, and thinks you don't know what you're doing, and continue to represent them."

Original case settles

The Swormville firefighters turned to the law firm of Kenney Shelton Liptak Nowak. The new firm in 2017 won a $1.3 million settlement with K2M and Picone, which did not admit wrongdoing.

Swormville board members and their current attorneys say this shows the case could have reached a conclusion much sooner if HoganWillig hadn't mismanaged the file.

But Hogan and Tiveron say the settlement wouldn't have happened without the groundwork laid by the extensive efforts made by HoganWillig.

Tiveron said a quick settlement would have been a "disservice" to the fire company because some issues with the fire hall didn't become apparent until later on.

"This was not a simple file. It was complex litigation, and we worked diligently. Yes, there were different attorneys on the file. But we rightsized our fee around the work that was done," Tiveron said, adding, "The suggestion that there was deceit is just mind-boggling to me."

HoganWillig, later Tiveron Law, said it was owed 20% of the "net recovery" of the fire company's settlement. A firm representative said this amounted to $150,000 but added HoganWillig later agreed to accept 10% of the net recovery, or $75,000, plus unpaid expenses of $11,600.

D. Charles Roberts Jr., one of Swormville's current lawyers, said HoganWillig never told this to the fire company and said the true figure sought by Swormville's former lawyers was $332,625.

Not surprisingly, the two sides can't agree about the financial figures at the center of the dispute. Roberts said HoganWillig and Lorenzo & Cohen were paid a combined $251,577 for their work on the case, while HoganWillig says the figure was $214,500.

Corey Hogan (copy)

HoganWillig law firm founder Corey J. Hogan, left, and one of his firm's attorneys, Steven M. Cohen, at a 2010 news conference. Both men are at the heart of a legal dispute between HoganWillig, now Tiveron Law, and a former client over HoganWillig's work on behalf of the Swormville Fire Company.

HoganWillig also notes Kenney Shelton, at just over $280,000, and Roberts, at about $340,000 for his work at two firms, have received far more in legal fees from the fire company.

A State Supreme Court justice in August 2024 dismissed HoganWillig's claim for additional fees, saying the firm gave up its right to this money when it ended its relationship with the fire company.

"When they quit without justification," Roberts said.

HoganWillig appealed, but the state Appellate Division, Fourth Department, on Nov. 21 upheld the lower court ruling. HoganWillig, represented by Tiveron, will appeal if it can persuade the state Court of Appeals to take up the case.

New court fights

Meanwhile, Swormville had filed counterclaims against HoganWillig alleging attorney deceit, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract, among other claims.

Jury selection in the trial in State Supreme Court in Buffalo began on Nov. 17. The trial ran through Nov. 24 and both Cohen, who declined to comment for this article, and Hogan testified.

For the jury award, which includes $400,000 in punitive damages, to reach its full value of $1,036,000, a portion must be tripled when the final judgment is entered, Roberts said.

"They clearly found that HoganWillig and Corey Hogan, Steve Cohen and the others had taken advantage of the fire company for many years," he said, by delaying the litigation for their own financial gain.

Hogan said he hopes to get a better outcome from the appellate judges in Rochester.

"There's no basis for punitive damages unless you really show egregious conduct. I don't know what we did that amounted to any improper conduct," he said. "They complained about the time, but no one said what we did on their behalf was anything but proper legal work."

Moeller, the Swormville board member, testified and attended each day of the trial. The fire company has paid for some needed building repairs, but others remain undone, and he's not sure when Swormville's finances will recover.

The years of litigation, capped off by the stress of the trial, have taken an emotional toll, he said.

"We all trust attorneys to give us the best advice," Moeller said. "And when you get one that's not giving you the best advice, by the time you realize that it might be too late."

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