LL&E Royalty Trust (fka LRTR)

[LLnEorBust]

Most of the fees are earned in pre-trial discovery and motion practice. Other costs are added on top of whatever the contingency would be--in this case they had a forensic accountant and a reserve engineer do very extensive reviews.

But, I don't know if this would have been a contingency case. It was financially complex, and Maverick had a number of viable affirmative defenses, including in Bankruptcy Court (where the case remained open, because Maverick also had a viable path to rejecting the claim, depending on the outcome of certain TX law questions the state court never resolved). Kim isn't really a plaintiff's attorney, but rather specializes in complex oil & gas litigation, has won some high-profile cases. Moreover: the trust made a motion in limine (request that the judge bar attorneys and witnesses from discussing certain matters while the jury is seated) which included any discussion of Shrik Mehta's other businesses (specifically his diamond business) and 'any discussion of how the litigation is being financed.' Those formed part of the same request, so likely related. That, along with the fact that Kim doesn't seem like the usual contingency-minded plaintiff's lawyer, suggests to me that Shrik has been lending the Trust money to cover its legal costs. That was an authority he granted himself via proxy vote on an amendment to the Trust Agreement.

I just refuse to believe he willingly settled the case for an amount that lost the Trust money. Kim is good at building narratives for juries (check out the "Asian Colombo" video on his website) and I think the fact-pattern was very, very supportive of his position.

Ultimately, Mehta / Parsons are contractually obligated to provide unitholders financial statements showing the income and expenses of the Trust, and to do so in a timely manner. See: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/721765/000135448813003343/ltr_41.htm, as amended by Mehta himself in 2013. Section 4.04.