Law firm Jones Day has filed a lawsuit against Centre Lane Partners, alleging the private equity firm and a number of its portfolio companies failed to pay more than $9.6m in legal fees, according to a report by Reuters.
In a complaint lodged in New York state court, Jones Day says Centre Lane abruptly stopped paying invoices in 2024 after years of timely settlements. The firm states it had acted as Centre Lane’s outside counsel since 2018, advising on litigation, financings, acquisitions, and regulatory matters.
The lawsuit names several portfolio companies as defendants, including Anchor Hocking and Corelle Brands. Jones Day claims it continued providing legal services after receiving assurances that outstanding fees would be paid, adding that these representations later proved to be false.
More than half of the alleged unpaid amount relates to Jones Day’s work defending Centre Lane and one of its companies in a dispute over a Pennsylvania glass plant closure and a related investigation by the Federal Trade Commission. Jones Day says it began withdrawing from its representations last month, with Greenberg Traurig now acting for Centre Lane and affiliated entities in the Pennsylvania antitrust case.
