Attorneys say disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes isn’t paying them
Stanford dropout commanded billion-dollar firm before downfall
Elizabeth Holmes, founder of defunct lab testing company Theranos, leaves federal court in San Jose, Calif., Monday, Jan. 14, 2019. Holmes is facing wire fraud charges. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
By Ethan Baron | ebaron@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: October 3, 2019 at 5:27 pm | UPDATED: October 5, 2019 at 2:58 pm
Click here if you’re having trouble viewing the slideshow on your mobile device.
Lawyers representing disgraced Theranos founder and accused fraudster Elizabeth Holmes said in a civil case claim she hasn’t paid them for more than a year and probably never will, according to court records, and they don’t want to be her lawyers anymore.
The three attorneys from the firm Cooley LLP argue in a court filing that you can’t get blood from a stone.
“Ms. Holmes has not paid Cooley for any of its work as her counsel of record in this action for more than a year,” lawyers Stephen Neal, John Dwyer and Jeffrey Lombard said in the filing.
“Further, given Ms. Holmes’s current financial situation, Cooley has no expectation that Ms. Holmes will ever pay it for its services as her counsel.”
The lawyers are seeking approval from the court to stop representing Holmes. “It is unfair and unreasonable to require Cooley to continue representing Ms. Holmes in this action,” said the filing. It was made Sept. 30 in a civil case against Holmes, the Walgreens drug store chain and Theranos, the company whose rise and fall also put her in federal criminal court charged with conspiracy and fraud.
Judges, when lawyers ask to stop representing clients, may order the attorneys to continue if their withdrawal would cause undue harm to a client’s case. As of Oct. 4, no ruling had been issued on the Holmes lawyers’ motion to the court.
Holmes, who was CEO of the Palo Alto blood-testing startup, could not be reached for comment. Theranos marketed blood-testing technology that federal authorities say did not perform as advertised.
Plaintiffs in the class-action civil case, filed in U.S. District Court in Phoenix, accuse Holmes, her company and Walgreens — which had offered Theranos blood-testing services in Arizona and Palo Alto — of fraud, and in the cases of Walgreens and Theranos, medical battery. Walgreens, Holmes and Theranos have denied the allegations.
In the federal criminal case, Holmes and former company president Sunny Balwani were indicted by a grand jury in June 2018. They have pleaded not guilty to 11 criminal counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
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The FBI has alleged that Holmes and Balwani endangered health and lives. That case continues in San Jose U.S. District Court, with a trial date set for July 28 next year. Jury selection will start on that date with the court to begin hearing evidence Aug. 4.
Holmes — who dropped out of Stanford University at 19 to found Theranos — and Balwani face maximum penalties of 20 years in prison and a $2.75 million fine, plus possible restitution, the Department of Justice has said.
Members of her legal team in the criminal case did not respond to questions about whether Holmes has been paying them.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/10...zabeth-holmes-cant-pay-lawyers-lawyers-claim/
Stanford dropout commanded billion-dollar firm before downfall
Elizabeth Holmes, founder of defunct lab testing company Theranos, leaves federal court in San Jose, Calif., Monday, Jan. 14, 2019. Holmes is facing wire fraud charges. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
By Ethan Baron | ebaron@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: October 3, 2019 at 5:27 pm | UPDATED: October 5, 2019 at 2:58 pm
Click here if you’re having trouble viewing the slideshow on your mobile device.
Lawyers representing disgraced Theranos founder and accused fraudster Elizabeth Holmes said in a civil case claim she hasn’t paid them for more than a year and probably never will, according to court records, and they don’t want to be her lawyers anymore.
The three attorneys from the firm Cooley LLP argue in a court filing that you can’t get blood from a stone.
“Ms. Holmes has not paid Cooley for any of its work as her counsel of record in this action for more than a year,” lawyers Stephen Neal, John Dwyer and Jeffrey Lombard said in the filing.
“Further, given Ms. Holmes’s current financial situation, Cooley has no expectation that Ms. Holmes will ever pay it for its services as her counsel.”
The lawyers are seeking approval from the court to stop representing Holmes. “It is unfair and unreasonable to require Cooley to continue representing Ms. Holmes in this action,” said the filing. It was made Sept. 30 in a civil case against Holmes, the Walgreens drug store chain and Theranos, the company whose rise and fall also put her in federal criminal court charged with conspiracy and fraud.
Judges, when lawyers ask to stop representing clients, may order the attorneys to continue if their withdrawal would cause undue harm to a client’s case. As of Oct. 4, no ruling had been issued on the Holmes lawyers’ motion to the court.
Holmes, who was CEO of the Palo Alto blood-testing startup, could not be reached for comment. Theranos marketed blood-testing technology that federal authorities say did not perform as advertised.
Plaintiffs in the class-action civil case, filed in U.S. District Court in Phoenix, accuse Holmes, her company and Walgreens — which had offered Theranos blood-testing services in Arizona and Palo Alto — of fraud, and in the cases of Walgreens and Theranos, medical battery. Walgreens, Holmes and Theranos have denied the allegations.
In the federal criminal case, Holmes and former company president Sunny Balwani were indicted by a grand jury in June 2018. They have pleaded not guilty to 11 criminal counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
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- She saw through Elizabeth Holmes. Now Stanford professor is star in Theranos saga.
- Theranos’ Holmes seeks ‘exculpatory’ evidence from federal agencies in criminal case
- Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes fights feds over documents, trial date amid criminal prosecution
The FBI has alleged that Holmes and Balwani endangered health and lives. That case continues in San Jose U.S. District Court, with a trial date set for July 28 next year. Jury selection will start on that date with the court to begin hearing evidence Aug. 4.
Holmes — who dropped out of Stanford University at 19 to found Theranos — and Balwani face maximum penalties of 20 years in prison and a $2.75 million fine, plus possible restitution, the Department of Justice has said.
Members of her legal team in the criminal case did not respond to questions about whether Holmes has been paying them.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/10...zabeth-holmes-cant-pay-lawyers-lawyers-claim/
