The California technology company Zest Labs Inc. is heading back to court over issues related to its successful jury trials in its case against Walmart Inc.
But these latest lawsuits involve Zest’s original attorneys and not the Bentonville retailer.
Zest has accused its original attorneys — the Houston law office of Vinson & Elkins LLP and Williams Simons & Landis of Austin, Texas — of malpractice in a lawsuit. And Williams Simons & Landis has accused Zest of not paying it millions of dollars in attorneys fees.
As you’ll recall, Zest first sued the Bentonville retailer back in 2018 over allegations that Walmart stole Zest’s revolutionary technology that extended the shelf life of food and reduced food waste.
Zest received a $115 million judgment from a federal jury in Little Rock in 2021, but U.S. District Judge James M. Moody Jr. ordered a new trial in December 2023, after new evidence was discovered that he said might have changed the outcome of the 2021 trial.
After Moody ordered a new trial, Zest hired the law firm of Bartko Pavia LLP of San Francisco. (Scott Richardson of McDaniel Wolff PLLC of Little Rock also represented Zest but they aren’t named in the lawsuits.)
At the retrial last year, a federal jury awarded Zest $222.7 million against Walmart. The case was settled in July, avoiding a lengthy appeal.
But Williams Simons & Landis said in a lawsuit filed Jan. 7 in the U.S. District Court in Austin that Zest failed to pay attorneys fees and expenses allegedly owed to WSL stemming from the first trial.
WSL said that it is owed at least $11 million in attorneys fees. The law firm also accused Bartko Pavia of controlling the settlement funds but refusing to pay.
Zest denied the allegations.
“WSL’s lawsuit against Zest Labs is a cynical attempt to distract from legal malpractice that cost Zest Labs up to $200 million in damages,” Zest’s attorney David Wynne of Houston said in an email statement to Whispers.
“A Court found that WSL’s lawyers made misrepresentations in a sworn affidavit that ultimately resulted in a judgment in favor of Zest being set aside and WSL being replaced as counsel for Zest Labs. They also already charged Zest Labs over $13 million for their work and it’s nothing short of stunning that they want more.”
The lead attorney for Zest, Patrick M. Ryan of Bartko Pavia, said in an email statement to Whispers, “We are not a proper party to this case and we are confident it will be swiftly dismissed.”
On Jan. 8, the day after WSL’s lawsuit was filed, Zest filed a lawsuit against WSL and the Houston law office of Vinson & Elkins LLP, accusing it of malpractice in the first lawsuit against Walmart. Zest spent more than $140 million developing the technology, but those firms didn’t seek to recover research and development costs, which is malpractice, Zest’s lawsuit said.
Zest also accused the law firms of “grossly overbilling” for their services.
Vinson & Elkins did not return a message for comment.
WSL’s attorney, William A. Brewer III of Brewer Attorneys & Counselors’ Dallas’ office, told Whispers via email that WSL “delivered extraordinary results in the Walmart litigation — and the firm’s advocacy was the foundation for two jury verdicts totaling more than $325 million.”
He said that the record reflects that a retrial was ordered so additional evidence could be considered. “The retrial relied on the same trial record WSL developed and resulted in an even larger verdict,” Brewer said. “This dispute isn’t about performance; it’s about payment.”
He said that Zest’s lawsuit lacks merit and is “nothing more than an attempt to deflect from paying our client.”
Stay tuned.
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