Ad exec accuses White Plains defense attorney of malpractice

A White Plains advertising executive who was sued for allegedly stealing business from a previous employer has accused his former defense attorney of malpractice.

Franco Cabral, former national sales director of AdCorp Media Group, Irvington, is demanding $2.1 million from White Plains attorney Richard St. Paul.

St. Paul missed court deadlines and failed to file court papers in AdCorp’s  lawsuit against Cabral, according to a June 24 complaint filed in Westchester Supreme Court, leaving him in a “precarious and disadvantageous position.”

St. Paul did not respond to an email asking for his side of the story.

AdCorp hired Cabral in 2012, and by 2013 he was the national sales director and chief operating officer.

The company places advertisements on shopping carts, benches and welcome center signs at supermarkets across the country.

Cabral was paid $150,000 a year plus a 3% override on gross sales. In four and a half years, according to AdCorp, he was paid more than $1 million.

Cabral formed InMark Media LLC in 2016, and while still working for AdCorp he allegedly contacted his employer’s clients to terminate contracts and switch their business to him.

AdCorp sued Cabral, InMark and eight other individuals for $1.5 million, in Westchester Supreme Court in 2016, accusing them of stealing business.

Cabral hired St. Paul, a former New Rochelle city council member who handles business law, real estate, and employment law, according to his LinkedIn Profile.

St. Paul filed an answer with counterclaims, demanding $2 million and  alleging that an AdCorp executive had embezzled funds to which Cabral was entitled.

But St. Paul repeatedly missed court deadlines, Cabral claims, skipped mandatory court conferences, did not respond to discovery requests, and failed to keep Cabral informed on the status of the case.

In 2017, for instance, AdCorp asked the court to dismiss Cabral’s counterclaims and defenses. St. Paul was supposed to file a response by Oct 19, 2017, but he missed the deadline claiming he had injured his hand.

The court gave him an extra week but he missed that deadline too, claiming technical difficulties and that he was out of town and unable to deal with the issue. Then six days later, without seeking court permission, he filed opposition papers.

Justice David F. Everett granted a default judgment in favor of AdCorp, dismissing Cabral’s counterclaims and most of his defenses. The judge cited St. Paul’s tardy response and failure to conform with New York court rules.

In 2018 AdCorp asked the court to sanction St. Paul for not complying with discovery requests for documents. St. Paul did not show up for a mandatory court conference.

Justice Joan B. Lefkowitz granted AdCorp’s request to preclude St. Paul from presenting any new testimony or evidence for Cabral’s few remaining defenses, citing “defendants’ failure to obey court orders … despite ample opportunity.”

In 2019, Justice William J. Giacomo disqualified St. Paul from the case.

The AdCorp lawsuit is pending.

Cabral says he paid St. Paul $90,000 in legal fees and another $14,113 to hire a new attorney. He claims that St. Paul’s failures also cost him $2 million he was seeking in the counterclaims against AdCorp that the court disallowed.

Cabral is accusing St. Paul of malpractice, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and intent to deceive. He is represented by White Plains attorney Troy D. Lipp.