246 – Lawsuit

Wing Bo attended a meeting sent out by Lawyer Gong in Yide. Lawyer Gong intended to brag about a big new case, but he was also requesting help from the Horsemen members. As usual, they met in the lounge of the Midnight Sky Bar. 

“There’s an interesting case coming up,” said Lawyer Gong in their private lounge. “An upstart pharmaceutical company is hiring He & Shang to go up against the Chenchen hospital in another province.”

“Oh?” Wing Bo asked; he sounded disinterested. “It’s just an upstart, is it trying to ruin itself by getting involved with a lawsuit?” 

“They are getting sued left and right from the patients, so they are likely doing this to place the blame on the hospital,” Lawyer Gong responded. 

“Are you promising them a speedy case?” asked Lawyer Nan. Lawsuits were expensive, especially when He & Shang Law Firm was handling the case.

“Of course, but this isn’t going to be easy for them,” said Lawyer Gong. “Chenchen Hospital will likely be represented by the Galba Group.”

“Galba Group? Aren’t they in Magic City?” asked Wing Bo. “What are they doing in G-province?”

“Don’t know, but it’s the rumor I hear,” said Lawyer Gong. “They are known for dragging their feet and many motions to delay court appearances. Most businesses run out of money before they continue.”

“Are you going to squeeze Shennong out dry as well?” asked Wing Bo.

“Well, I’ve been looking into their finances, and they seem to be expanding into other markets aside from pharmaceuticals,’ said Lawyer Gong. “If I run them dry, too bad for them. But if they really manage to succeed, I don’t want to run the risk of losing them as a client.”

Even a dirty lawyer like Lawyer Gong had to weigh the pros and cons when attempting to sabotage and scam their own clients.

“You’re really concerned about a small company like Shennong?” asked the other lawyer. “You better think about it. The Galba Group isn’t simple.”

Lawyer Gong was aware that behind any successful law firm were powerful conglomerates and politicians. He had dealt with enough under-the-table dealings to know how things really worked behind the scene. As for the Galba Group, their main clients were mainly foreign investors looking to expand into China.

“That’s not the problem, the problem is Shennong’s association with the governor,” Lawyer Gong wasn’t completely aware of the relationship between Ju De and Governor Ning, but blood was ultimately still thicker than water.

“You do not have to worry about the governor,” Lawyer Nan interjected. “What you need to worry about is their connection to the Song.”

“The Song?” Lawyer Gong was surprised the connection went up that high.

“Just choose carefully, either way, there will be benefits and pitfalls. You just need to find ways to stall Shennong without creating too much conflict with any party.”

In his mind, Lawyer Gong ultimately decided to run Shennong around in circles. Once Lawyer Gong made the decisions, the call girls came in to greet the guests and served them drinks. Lawyer Nan ignored them and was much more interested in talking with Wing Bo.

“Mr. Wing, I also heard you have a new client,” said Lawyer Nan.

Wing Bo smiled, raised his wine glass to her and smoothly emptied out his glass. “And Lawyer Nan would be correct.”

Her question appeared simple on the surface, he knew why Lawyer Nan had asked about his new client. After dealing with the Blue Moon, the organization had decided it was not worth dealing with Wing Bo directly or risk exposing him. However, Wing Bo knew that they wouldn’t simply drop everything and leave. If he was the upper management of the Blue Moon, he would leak out information to Governor Ning’s group and see how they would react to it. 

“Is your client planning to expand like your old client?” Lawyer Nan asked.

“More or less,” Wing Bo remarked. 

Wing Bo’s vague remark piqued the other lawyers’ interest. Wing Bo’s former client was secretive and being able to evade the public eye meant it was backed by someone powerful. The only thing they knew was the name of the organization, Abyss.

“Then I assume your new client wants these files,” Lawyer Nan passed to Wing Bo the records of the shell companies that had possessions of the various real estates in Qinbei and Angao. She had been considering keeping them after the Blue Moon backed away, but since there was another unknown player in the scene, it was better to play it safe. Her only backers were Governor Ning and Mr. Bai. “Are they planning to redevelop the site?”

“Not at the moment, they are not important in the overall scheme of things.”

Lawyer Nan wondered if they were holding onto the property until the value and equity increased to fund larger projects.

Li Yun had given Wing Bo instructions to place various Shudi gang members as owners of the trusts named on the lease of the various properties. Although they were the owner, it was only in name. Everything must be approved by Wing Bo for any future transactions to proceed. As the properties were not Li Yun to begin with, he didn’t want his name associated with it. The properties would be used to house various people in need of housing and a cheap place to operate their small businesses.

****

The Chenchen director and administrator met secretly in their office to discuss their dilemma. In the beginning, they thought it would be simple to deal with Shennong. They knew it was risky, but 5 million cash was too tempting to let go. Once they completed the plan, KLD offered to back them up with the best lawyers.

They never thought all the patients would sue them, including the patients who weren’t harmed in the process. They had anticipated the Shennong would file a lawsuit, but they were not prepared for all the patients to suddenly join in a lawsuit against Chenchen.

“I told you it was a bad idea,” the administrator said.

“You did not warn me that Shennong was associated with Governor Ning!” The director felt like shooting himself. If he had known Shennong wasn’t so simple, he wouldn’t have acted so rashly to accept the bribe.

“It’s too late now, we have to continue with the trial. We already told the other side that we will stretch the trial out as long as possible. The judge is also on our side, so don’t worry.”

“Damn it! You’re only saying that because you don’t know what information they have,” the director felt like going crazy. “Someone mailed me pictures of my affair with some of the hostesses!”

“That’s your problem,” the administrator couldn’t care less. He was already divorced. “If you break now, everything we did will be exposed. That’s ten times worse than going through a divorce.”

“You f*****! They are going to remove me from my position.”

“Just resign now, it’s better than going to jail.”

“Dammit!” The director regretted taking the bribes, but he was already trapped in a hole he had dug up himself.