Charlotte attorney sues Mayfield for unpaid bills
Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009
Charlotte lawyer Bill Diehl.
Jeremy Mayfield outside the federal courthouse in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)
Charlotte attorney Bill Diehl and his law firm filed suit against former client and NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield on Wednesday to recover almost $372,000 in unpaid legal bills.
Diehl and his firm filed suit in Mecklenburg County Superior Court seeking to receive $371,973.66 for legal services already performed for Mayfield and his team, Mayfield Motorsports Inc., as they battled NASCAR over his indefinite suspension for violating the sport's substance abuse policy.
In the suit, Diehl and his firm claim between May and August 2009 Mayfield was continually late in the payment of a promised monthly payment.
In addition, the firm claims it attempted several times to get Mayfield to agree to a written contract to pay monthly $20,000 payments and a lump sum final payment on Dec. 15 and Mayfield repeatedly refused.
The firm is seeking the court to award it the amount of unpaid legal fees plus attorney fees and late charges and interest dating from Oct. 22, 2009, until the amount is finally paid.
Last month, Mayfield replaced Diehl and his firm with celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos. At the time of the change, Diehl said in repeated interviews that Mayfield owed him "a lot" for defending him in his lawsuit against NASCAR.
Mayfield recently held an auction to sell an executive home, log cabin, ranch home, shop and various other personal property in Catawba County.
The was no immediate response from Mayfield on Wednesday to the filing.
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