Lawyer Threatens Suit Over Coat

MARCH 4--If you've forgotten why lawyers have approval ratings as low as politicians and journalists, take a look at this letter written recently by William Ogletree, a Texas attorney.

The 62-year-old Ogletree, you see, was headed to Las Vegas on December 30 when he stopped at a pizza place in the Houston airport. Upon departing the food court in Terminal C, Ogletree somehow forgot to take his 'expensive black leather coat,' an XL Polo model (with a fashionable plaid lining) worth $800. Not surprisingly, the coat subsequently disappeared.

Now Ogletree is threatening to sue the City of Houston, Continental Airlines, and the food court's management company for failing to have 'collected the coat, kept it in a secure place and held it for a reasonable time' until he was able to reunite with the garment. These prospective defendants, Ogletree reasoned, 'breached their duty' in connection with how they 'manage lost and found items for which they are responsible.'

In his January 18 litigation threat letter, a copy of which you'll find here, Ogletree, pictured at left, noted that 'further legal action' could be avoided if he simply was paid $800 'for the cost of the coat.' Ogletree did not respond to a message left at his office, so TSG can offer no further Ogletree thoughts on the subject of personal responsibility. (2 pages)