Case 0:08-md-01916-KAM Document 2410 Entered on FLSD Docket 04/17/2019 Page 1 of 6

UNITED STATES DISTRICT CO URT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLO RIDA
CASE NO .08-m d-01916-G M

IN RE:CHIQUITA BM NDS
m TERNATIONAL,m C.ALIEN
TORTS STATUTE AND SHAREHOLDER
DEm VATIVE LITIGATION
FILED BY ' D,C.
'
1

A TA A ctions Apq 17 2219

ANGELA E.NOBLE
c LEnK U.S.DlSTLcT:
s.D.o: FrLA.-M IAMI

15-81585-C1V-MAR1tA (FloridaPorter)
17-80514-C1V-M ARRA (OhioPorter)

OBJECTION TO BOIES SCHILLER FLEXNER LLP

M OTION TO W ITHDRAW AS CO UNSEL OF RECORD

PLAINTIFFS, JORGE PORTER, LIBIA PUERTA AND ALEXANDER PUERTA ,

(slporter Plaintiffs'') hereby file their Objection to The M otion to W ithdraw filed by Boies
SchillerFlexnerLLP (tEBSF'')(DE 2390)andinsupportthereofstate:
1. This litigation ispredicated upon events that began on orabout January, 1999 and

continued tluough at least M arch, 2001. The Plaintiffs retained the services of BSF in

approxim ately 2013 or 2014 to prosecute this action by entering into a contingency fee

agreem entwith that law firm . BSF Gled this adion in 2015 and this m atterwas subsequently

consolidated w1111othercasesforthepurposesofdiscovery.
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IN R& CHIQUITA S42NDk

% etc.
CASE NO.08-md-01916-D M

3. Upon information and belief,BSF became attorney ofrecord forwhatmay be atleast

3,799 clients in related cases againstChiquita Brands.l Additionally,the undersigned believes

thatBSF hasrepresented thosethousandsofplaintiffsforapproxim ately eightto ten years.

4. Dtlring the representation of the Porter PlaintiFs, discovery hms produced m any

thousands ofdocllments,necessitated coordination of discovery issues with counselfor other

plaintiffs,aswellas internationaltravelfordiscovery and deposition ptuposesand litigation of

com plex legaland factualissues. M ueh ofthe discovery has involved issues ofintem ationallaw ,

interviewsand depositionsofwitnesseslocated in foreignjurisdictions,and evidentiarymatters

both dom estic and foreign. The PorterPlaintiffshave notbeen advised of the specific role of

BSF in these efforts. M any of the pleadings have been filed undersealand Jorge Porter,on

behalf of a11Porter Plaintiffs,has requested copies of those pleadings f'

rom BSF. BSF has

refused to provide copiesof sealed docllmentsto Jorge Porter,telling him thatis betteroffnot

knowing whatis contained in the sealed documents. Furtherm ore,BSF has refused to even

sllmmmize or disclose the subjectmatterto which the sealed documents relate. ln sepazate
requests,Jorge Porterhasspecifkally requested BSF to 1ethim know the contentand the nature

ofdiscovery materials relating to his own kidnapping and torture while in the custody ofthe

AUC. BSF has refused these requests. Similarly,BSF has refused to disclose intbrm ation

relating the kidnapping,torture and ultimate mlzrder of his brother, Juan Carlos Puerta,which

establishesthe claim sby hism other and personalrepresentative,Libia Puerta, and ofhis son,

AlexanderPuerta.

5. Although BSF seem sto imply thatitsM otion to W ithdraw ispredicated upon som e

individualized issue related to the PorterPlaintiffs,ithas come the attention ofthetmdersigned

See,OrderDenying Boies,Schiller& FlexnerLlp'sM otion To W ithdraw AsCotmselFor

M ontesPlaintiffsW ithoutPrejudice(De1712)
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IN #& CHIQUITA BM NDS,etc.

CASE NO.08-md-01916-KAM

that BSF hms also attem pted to withdraw from the representation ofalmost3,799 otherclients

againstChiquita Brands. M any ofthe allegations upon which those other cases are based are

facfllnlly sim ilarto thosein thiscase.

6. BSF'Ssuggestion ofacontlictwith thePorterPlaintiffsafterhaving represented them

forapproximately six years,especially when viewed in the lightofBSF'S attemptsto withdraw

from representing 3,799 other clients in sim ilar litigation suggests the existence of som e reason

other th% a contlict of interests. The fact that B SF has sought to w ithdraw fr
'om the

representation of alm ost 4,000 clients in m atters al1 relating to the sam e or sim ilar causes of

action againstthe sam e defendantsuggeststhatthe im plied conflictisnotrelated to the clients

but to som e other tm disclosed concem s of B SF which is applicable to alm ost 4,000 clients and

certainly notto any individualized concem saboutthe PorterPlaintifsin particular.

7. ThePlaintiffshaverequested BSF to inform them ofthe am ount,ifany,ofa charging

lien orattorneys'feesthatitw ould claim if another 1aw 514,

11appeared as successor cotm sel.To-

date,BSF hasrefused orfailed toprovidethatinform ation.

8. Regardlessofany conflictBSF allegesprevents itf'

rom continuing itsrepresentation

ofthe PorterPlaintiffs,BSF hasadvised JorgePorterthatitwould continue itsrepresentation of

the PorterPlaintiffs fora fee of$5,000,000.00 (Five M illion Dollars),to be paid before any
further legal services are provided. The Porter Plaintiffs were and are tmable to pay

$5,000,000.00,butJorge Porteroflkred by em ailto pay $25,000.00 plusany proceedshe wasto

receive from a pending action againstM etro PCS. To-date,BSF has failed to respond to this

counteroffer. As to the totalfee thatBSF m ightclaim,the only response wasthatBSF would

discussthatwith the law fll'm thattook overthe representation.

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IN AE'
.'CHIQUITA BM NDS,etc.
CASE NO.08-md-01916-D M

9. Nevertheless,beginning in January,2019,Jorge Porterhasattempted to retain other

counsel. He has consulted with not less than five law firms in an effortto obtain successor

counsel. Each firm hasexpressed concernsthatthe caseisvez.

y old,thatto becom e sum ciently

fnmiliarwith thelegaland factualissuesaswellmsto review and analyzethe discovery m aterials

would take an extended period oftim eranging from ninem onthsto one year. Additionally,each

firm inquired about fees that BSF m ight claim . Unfortunately,Jorge Porter was not able to

respond to thatquestion due to BSF'Srefusalto provide him with thatinform ation. M oreover,

each ofthesefirmswere aware ofthe conflictsexisting between BSF,PaulW olf,Esq.and Terry

Collingsworth,Esq.and wasnotwilling to becom e entangled in thatcontroversy.

10. Jorge Porter has been the only person in a position to obtain cotm selfor the Porter

Plaintiffs. Libia Puerta is his m other and the m other of Juan Carlos Puerta. She is also the

PersonalRepresentative ofJunn CarlosPuerta. However,she is 80 yearsold,in poorhealth and

unsophisticated in businessm atters. AlexanderPuerta isthe son ofJuan CadosPuerta. Atthe

tim e of his father's dem ise,Alexander was approximately tllree or fotlr years of age. Jorge

Porterhastmdertaken the dutiesofguiding thislitigation and interacting with attom eyson their

behalf.

11. Perm itting BSF to withdraw from this litigation at this late date will operate to

deprive these Plaintiffs ofcotmsel,extend the litigation foran unforeseeable period oftim e and

increase the costs of litigation and attom eys' fees in an inestimable am ount. The necessary

duplication ofeffortand expense necessary by any successorcounselwillcertainly delay these

proceedingsand could increasethecostsby perhapsmillionsofdollars.Dueto BSF'Sreluctance

to disclose their fees and costs to the Porter Plaintiffs,they are leû to speculate ms to these

4
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IN RE:CHIQUITA BM NDS,etc.
CASE NO.08-md-01916-KAM

am ounts. This, coupled with the additional reasons stated herein, has made it virtually

impossibleto sectlresuccessorcounsel.

W hile itmay seem thatthe Porter Plaintiffs m ightbe better served by successor

cotm sel,they have been unsuccessfulin finding thatsuccessor. ThePorterPlaintiffsbelievethat

they willbebetterserved by BSF'Scontinued representation ratherthan being forced to proceed

PrO Se.

W I-IEREFO RE,predicated upon the foregoing the Porter Plaintifrs requestthatthis Court

enteritsorderdenying Bsl''sM otion to w ithdraw .

Datedthi/v dayofApril,2019.
Resped fully subm itted, z ..p'--.''
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JORGE PORTER LIBIA PUERTA A LEXA N DER PU ERTA

P.O .Box 144661 6013 N W 201StTer. 14421 SNU 881 St
CoralG ables,FL M inm iLakes,FL Apt.405-M
33114-4661 33015-4880 M iam i,FL 33186-8090

CER TIFICA TE O F SER W C E

lHEREBY CERTIFY
, thatonApril99nà%v'*
,atrueandcorrectcopyoftheaboveand
foregoingObjectionto M otion to W ithdraw AsCotmselOfRecordhasbeen forwarded viaU.S.
M ailto the below listed counselofrecord:
/
. .'. p''
/?' t .' r-
'.''

j '
JORG E PO RTER
P.O .Box 144661
CoralGables,FL
33114-4661
Te1: 305-205-0004
Email:jorgporter@aol.com

5
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IN A& CHIQUITA BM NDS,etc.

CASE NO.08-md-019l6-KAM

DouglmssA,M itchell Am b.Lee S.W olosky

Pro H ac Vice Pro H ac Vice
BOIES SCHILLER FLEXN ER LLP BO IES,SCH ILLER FLEX NER LLP
300 South Fourth Street,Suite 800 55 Hudson Yards,20th Floor
Las Vegas,N evada 89101 N ew York,N Y 10001

Jonathan W .D avenport Sigrid S.M ccawley

Pro H ac Vice BO IES SC HILLER FLEX N ER LLP
BOIES SCH ILLER FLEXN ER LLP 401 EastLasO lasBoulevard
333 M ain Street Suite 1200
Arm onk,N ew York 10504 FortLauderdale,FL 33301