Fired Azar attorney says he’s owed $590K in commissions

A Frank Azar billboard looms over a used-car lot along South Broadway in Denver. (BusinessDen file)

A former top litigator at Frank Azar & Associates accuses the well-known personal injury firm of stealing nearly $600,000 in commissions and bonuses from him after his firing in March 2023.

Sean McCrary, who now runs his McCrary Law Firm, was head of the mass torts practice at Azar’s firm, according to a lawsuit he filed March 17. In that role, he oversaw large lawsuits regarding defective medical devices, along with the firm’s bread and butter: crash cases.

McCrary says that he and Frank Azar met in 2019 and came to a verbal agreement: In lieu of a salary, McCrary would be paid a commission from cases and an annual bonus. The dollar figures would be significant, according to McCrary’s lawsuit, since he was representing 364 clients in defective defibrillator lawsuits and more than 100 in another device case.

Sean McCrary. (LinkedIn)

McCrary settled nearly all of the cases, along with three car crash lawsuits, before his firing but hasn’t been paid commissions, he says. His lawsuit does not say why he was fired.

At the end of February, McCrary’s lawyer sent Frank Azar a letter demanding $590,000, according to a copy BusinessDen obtained in a records request. When Azar did not respond, McCrary filed a lawsuit against the Azar firm claiming theft of $590,000.

Azar and McCrary did not answer BusinessDen’s requests for interviews last week.

McCrary is represented by Brian Moore of Jester Gibson & Moore in Denver, who previously represented Ivy Ngo, the former head of the class action division at the Azar firm. Azar fired Ngo in 2020 and sued her for trying to lure lawyers away from Azar & Associates. Jurors awarded his firm the nominal amount of $4,000 in 2022, plus $1.2 million in attorney fees.