Gillum consulting group entangled with Chestnut legal woes

Andrew Gillum’s newly formed consulting business is now entangled in a legal battle between his business partner and childhood friend and a law firm owed nearly $800,000.

A Martin County judge on Tuesday signed off on garnishing CJD Group for any compensation it pays to former attorney Chris Chestnut, whose family has been very much a part of Gillum’s upbringing.

Chestnut said he isn’t paid by CJD Group and the garnishment is a farce.

“I have no affiliation with that other than that I'm on the paperwork,” he said. “I am not a paid employee. I don’t receive any benefit or compensation from it. Anything I've done, I’ve done as a volunteer.”

In January, Gillum started the business with some of his campaign advisors, attorney Sean Pittman, Sharon Lettman-Hicks and Chestnut, each who have been entrenched with Gillum's or their own legal troubles.

Chestnut, who was disbarred last week, is facing another ruling from the Supreme Court that could keep him disbarred permanently for misconduct. Last week, a Georgia court dismissed his bankruptcy claim. Chestnut has repeatedly argued that he has been treated unfairly by the Florida Bar and Martin County court.

Tuesday's garnishment is another snag in Chestnut's mounting legal problems.

“This is a fraud,” Chestnut said. “I’ve been drug through the mud to make it seem like I'm dishonest.”

The Tampa Bay Times reported about the group’s legal troubles last week.

Pittman, whose law firm is the group’s registered agent, is a Tallahassee lobbyist who went on the 2016 trip to Costa Rica with Gillum that resulted in the former gubernatorial candidate paying a $5,000 ethics commission fine. Lettman-Hicks has been subpoenaed for information after her firm employed and paid Gillum, the Times reported.

The garnishment issued Tuesday is for $785,319 that Chestnut owes attorney Marwan Porter and the Stuart-based Porter Law Firm from a lawsuit filed nearly five years ago to the day. Chestnut has had multiple bank accounts garnished as well.

The lawsuit stems from a $23.6 billion verdict in 2014 against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, one of the country’s largest tobacco companies and arguably Chestnut’s biggest victory as a lawyer.

A jury, then, found that the company was at fault for the death of a 36-year-old man who had lung cancer because the company hid its health hazard warnings on products.

Chestnut, Willie Gary and Howard Acosta made up the legal team that successfully argued the case. In 2017, however, the ruling was reversed in a state appeals court. The case is being re-tried in Escambia County.

“I can't owe the Martin County fee if the case is being re-tried,” Chestnut said. “As it stands now, I have hundreds of thousands of dollars tied up in a case that I may not get back. It’s fraud on the court.”

Before the reversal of the tobacco case, Porter filed a lawsuit against Chestnut and his firm, claiming the two had an agreement under which Porter would assist in several tobacco cases, including the 2014 case.

Chestnut has said there was no agreement and has maintained that he received no earnings from the case. Due to his disbarment, he won’t be allowed to argue the case again.

Porter argued in his original complaint that he and his firm educated Chestnut on tobacco litigation, gave legal advice and offered legal strategies. In return, Chestnut would finance and staff future tobacco cases and partner with Porter. Instead, the complaint said, Chestnut created a contract that excluded Porter from the $23 billion case.

In April 2017, a Martin County court ruled that Chestnut had breached his contract with Porter and awarded Porter a judgment. The courts said Chestnut was on the hook for approximately $731,000 and almost $54,000 in interest, court records show. He has had bank accounts garnished since then, records show.