Civil Practice: Unauthorized Practice-Attorney’s Fees-MMPA

Staff Report//October 25, 2019//

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Where plaintiffs brought claims that the defendants, a limited liability company and its owner, engaged in the unauthorized practice of law when it obtained judgments through collection lawsuits or by assignment, the acts performed by the individual defendant on behalf of the LLC did not constitute the practice of law since they required no legal skill or knowledge, so the judgment is affirmed, but the claims were not legally frivolous, so there was no basis for the defendants to recover attorneys’ fees against the plaintiffs under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act.

Judgment is affirmed.

Mitchell v. J&M Securities, LLC (MLW No. 74053/Case No. ED107431 – 26 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, Robert G. Dowd Jr., J.) Appealed from circuit court, St. Louis County, Wallach, J. (David T. Butsch and Christopher E. Roberts for appellant) (Mayer S. Klein, Michael J. Payne and Rachel M. Shenker for respondent).