Frank Azar’s billboards are commonplace in Denver and much of Colorado. (Denver District Court)
Colorado’s best-known law firm can be sued for abuse of the legal process, a judge said.
Frank Azar & Associates, the personal injury powerhouse, may have “acted with an ulterior motive” and “improperly used the legal process” when it sued the parents and husband of a former lawyer at the firm, Denver District Court Judge David Goldberg ruled March 7.
The allegation stems from the firm’s January 2020 decision to fire Ivy Ngo, who ran its class action division. The firm sued Ngo the next month, accusing her of trying to lure clients and coworkers away from Azar & Associates. Ngo countersued the firm and its well-known founder, accusing them of defaming her. A seven-day trial was held in December 2022.
Ivy Ngo listens to testimony in Denver District Court on Dec. 7, 2022. (BusinessDen file)
Jurors sided with Azar and awarded him the nominal amount of $4,000, but Ngo also had to pay her former firm’s $1.2 million in legal fees. She is currently appealing that verdict.
Meanwhile, Azar & Associates has been aggressively pursuing the money. It has garnished Ngo’s bank accounts and, in October, went farther by suing her family. The firm accuses Ngo of transferring a house in Denver to her husband and transferring money to her parents in 2021 and early 2022 in order to protect the assets from a future court judgment.
But Goldberg believes otherwise. In last week’s decision, the judge determined that Ngo borrowed money from her parents to fund home construction, sold the home to her husband for a fair price of $1.8 million, and used the proceeds to pay lawyers and repay her parents. All of that happened well before the trial, let alone before Ngo lost, Goldberg noted.
The Ngo family claims that Azar & Associates has an ulterior motive for its aggressive tactics: intimidation. In a case before the National Labor Relations Board, Ngo is accusing Azar and the Azar firm of forcing their employees to sign illegally restrictive employment contracts.
“Azar seeks to accomplish a purpose for which the Colorado court system was never intended: retaliation against a former employee for pursuing violations of the National Labor Relations Act,” the Ngo family alleged in its December countersuit for abuse of process.
Azar & Associates asked Goldberg to throw the charge out, but he declined to last week.
The Ngo family is represented by Chris Montville and Adam Mueller with the Haddon Morgan and Foreman law firm in Denver, who declined to comment on the judge’s order.
Azar & Associates is represented by Ross Pulkrabek at Keating Wagner Polidori Free in Denver, who did not answer a request for comment on Goldberg’s decision.
Another Azar case recently wrapped up, meanwhile. On Feb. 1, the Azar firm sued a personal injury law firm in Texas that also uses “The Strong Arm” moniker. Four days later, Azar & Associates told a Denver judge that it was dropping the case. It didn’t say why.
Frank Azar’s billboards are commonplace in Denver and much of Colorado. (Denver District Court)
Colorado’s best-known law firm can be sued for abuse of the legal process, a judge said.
Frank Azar & Associates, the personal injury powerhouse, may have “acted with an ulterior motive” and “improperly used the legal process” when it sued the parents and husband of a former lawyer at the firm, Denver District Court Judge David Goldberg ruled March 7.
The allegation stems from the firm’s January 2020 decision to fire Ivy Ngo, who ran its class action division. The firm sued Ngo the next month, accusing her of trying to lure clients and coworkers away from Azar & Associates. Ngo countersued the firm and its well-known founder, accusing them of defaming her. A seven-day trial was held in December 2022.
Ivy Ngo listens to testimony in Denver District Court on Dec. 7, 2022. (BusinessDen file)
Jurors sided with Azar and awarded him the nominal amount of $4,000, but Ngo also had to pay her former firm’s $1.2 million in legal fees. She is currently appealing that verdict.
Meanwhile, Azar & Associates has been aggressively pursuing the money. It has garnished Ngo’s bank accounts and, in October, went farther by suing her family. The firm accuses Ngo of transferring a house in Denver to her husband and transferring money to her parents in 2021 and early 2022 in order to protect the assets from a future court judgment.
But Goldberg believes otherwise. In last week’s decision, the judge determined that Ngo borrowed money from her parents to fund home construction, sold the home to her husband for a fair price of $1.8 million, and used the proceeds to pay lawyers and repay her parents. All of that happened well before the trial, let alone before Ngo lost, Goldberg noted.
The Ngo family claims that Azar & Associates has an ulterior motive for its aggressive tactics: intimidation. In a case before the National Labor Relations Board, Ngo is accusing Azar and the Azar firm of forcing their employees to sign illegally restrictive employment contracts.
“Azar seeks to accomplish a purpose for which the Colorado court system was never intended: retaliation against a former employee for pursuing violations of the National Labor Relations Act,” the Ngo family alleged in its December countersuit for abuse of process.
Azar & Associates asked Goldberg to throw the charge out, but he declined to last week.
The Ngo family is represented by Chris Montville and Adam Mueller with the Haddon Morgan and Foreman law firm in Denver, who declined to comment on the judge’s order.
Azar & Associates is represented by Ross Pulkrabek at Keating Wagner Polidori Free in Denver, who did not answer a request for comment on Goldberg’s decision.
Another Azar case recently wrapped up, meanwhile. On Feb. 1, the Azar firm sued a personal injury law firm in Texas that also uses “The Strong Arm” moniker. Four days later, Azar & Associates told a Denver judge that it was dropping the case. It didn’t say why.
