When poor investment consultation leads to significant financial harm, individuals may seek the assistance of Kansas City attorneys to recoup some of their lost money in the courts. Interestingly enough, recent reports suggest that not even professional athletes are immune to this kind of poor financial advice.
According to reports, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Kyle Orton, in conjunction with as many as 20 other unnamed NFL players, is currently engaged in a civil suit with Chicago law firm Chuhak & Tecson over alleged negligent financial advice.
The suit alleges that when the plaintiffs sought financial consultation from the firm in 2005, they were advised to invest in several oil and gas companies that convert methane gas from landfills into usable energy. In turn, this investment was supposed to create a legal tax shelter for the plaintiffs under Section 29 of the United States tax code, which stipulates investment in "qualified fuels" can reduce the investors' taxable income to the state and federal government.
However, the plaintiffs are arguing that the attorneys failed to ever mention that the energy companies in question might not actually meet the regulatory standards necessary to create the tax shelter, according to reports. Moreover, according to court documents cited by the Courthouse News Service, "Chuhak advised plaintiffs and other potential class members that their investment would result in significant tax credits because the requirements under Section 29 had been met." Such explicit assurances led the plaintiffs to invest in the proposed oil and gas companies.
After discovering in 2010 that the advice actually led to significant financial damages, the plaintiffs decided to sue Chuhak & Tecson for, among other claims, a breach of fiduciary duty. The plaintiffs are reportedly seeking damages of up to $10 million.