A wealthy American lawyer whose lifestyle features private jets, beachside properties and snazzy yachts is among the predatory legal eagles trying to cash in on Britain’s growing car finance scandal.
Harris Pogust, 61, a veteran of the US legal scene, has boasted online of his sprawling mansion which includes a pool, gym and wine cellar.
His firm, London-based Pogust Goodhead (PG) provides him and his British partner Thomas Goodhead the means to live in luxury thanks to the cut the firm takes from compensation rulings on big cases which can run into hundreds of millions of pounds.
The firm told The Mail on Sunday that 60,467 of its clients from previous cases had been brought on board for a car loan case.
When it wins class actions, it pockets up to 50 per cent of the victims’ money for itself. But consumer experts say motorists can make their own claim and keep 100 per cent of any payout.
New Jersey-born Pogust, frequently flaunts his wealth on Instagram, including a post last month showcasing his six-bedroom, eight-bathroom home. His wife’s social media features pictures of Pogust and their dog on a private jet and snaps on board yachts.
Fishing for business: Harris Pogust shows off his catch online
Goodhead is a barrister educated at both Oxford and Cambridge who co-founded the firm with Pogust in 2018.
It is locked in a high-profile battle in London’s High Court with Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP over the Samarco dam disaster in Brazil, which killed 19 people and contaminated waterways and land spanning several villages in 2015. The class action is estimated to be worth £36 billion. PG will reportedly receive up to 30 per cent for individuals and firms.
But Brazil’s former ambassador to the UK, Rubens Barbosa, accused the firm of encouraging hundreds of thousands of claimants to reject a £24 billion settlement scheme in favour of continuing action in the High Court, which they have no guarantee of winning.
A PG spokesman said: ‘Pogust Goodhead is representing 620,000 victims whose lives have been devastated – we make no excuses for using the means at our disposal to try to level a massively uneven playing field against some of the largest, most powerful and well-resourced companies in the world.’
The firm itself is looking to save on costs as it spends millions on its legal crusades including plans to cut about 20 per cent of its staff with up to 50 job losses at its London office, according to reports.
The Court of Appeal ruled last month that commissions paid to car dealers may be unlawful if they were not flagged to customers. Firms implicated include Close Brothers, one of the UK’s oldest merchant banks, as well as Lloyds and Santander.
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