HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution No. 04-69
RESOLUTION NO. 04-s¿}
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF THE
COLONY, TEXAS, APPROVING THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF A
LEGAL SERVICES AGREEMENT BY AND BETWEEN THE CITY OF
THE COLONY AND THOMSON, COE, COUSINS & IRONS, LLP FOR
THE PRELIMINARY ALIGNMENT AND PREPARATION OF
DOCUMENTS FOR RIGHT OF WAY AND EASEMENTS FOR THE
PROPOSED WIDENING OF FM 423, WHICH IS ATTACHED HERETO
AND INCORPORATED HEREIN AS EXHIBIT "A"; AUTHORIZING
THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE CONTRACT; AND
PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE
WHEREAS, the City and Consultant have entered into an agreement such that the
Consultant is to provide the following services: THE PRELIMINARY ALIGNMENT AND
PREPARATION OF DOCUMENTS FOR RIGHT OF WAY AND EASEMENTS FOR THE
PROPOSED WIDENING OF FM 423; and
WHEREAS, the City has determined that it is in the best interest of the City to enter into
the Contract with THOMSON, COE, COUSINS & IRONS, LLP, which is attached hereto and
incorporated herein by reference as Exhibit "A," under the terms and conditions provided
therein.
WHEREAS, with this Contract the City of The Colony is agreeing to pay a sum not to
exceed $25,000.00 for such work.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
THE COLONY, TEXAS THAT:
Section 1. The Legal Services Agreement, which is attached and incorporated hereto as
Exhibit "A", having been reviewed by the City Council of the City of The Colony, Texas, and found
to be acceptable and in the best interest of the City and its citizens, be, and the same is hereby, in all
things approved, and the City Manager is hereby authorized to execute the Agreement on behalf of
the City of The Colony, Texas.
Section 2. That this Resolution shall take effect immediately from and after its adoption
and it is so resolved.
PASSED, APPROVED and EFFECTIVE this 13TH day of SEPTEMBER, 2004.
~._~J~4J
hn Dillard, Mayor
?!:JAA ~.. t-Á- W~'-- ity of The Colony, Texas
she Wilson, City Secretary .
63918
[CITY SEAL]
63918
LEGALSER~CESAGREEMENT
This LEGAL SERVICES AGREEMENT ("Agreement") is entered into by City of The
Colony, Texas ("Client"), and Thompson, Coe, Cousins & Irons, L.L.P. (the "Finn"), as of the
_th day of September, 2004.
Scope of Representation
Client hereby engages the Firm to perform the following services:
A. Serve as legal counsel to Client with regard to: (i) assist with the development of
preliminary alignment and preparation of all necessary or required documents, applications,
agreements, forms or studies for the capacity expansion, or improvement to Farm to Market Road 423
from State Highway 121 north to Stewarts Creek Road relating to right of way requirements, utility
relocations, development of acquisition budgets, timelines, cost estimates and other necessary matters
incidental to planning and preparation for the FM 423 improvements; and (ii) representation before
any and all governmental entities or other bodies, public or private, necessary and incidental to securing
the authorization set forth in (i) above, including but not limited to:
(a) Texas Department of Transportation; Dallas, Denton or other district or area offices;
(b) Texas Transportation Commission; North Central Texas Council of Governments;,
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality or, other state, regional, or local
planning entities;
(c) Texas Transportation Commission; Railroad Commission;
(d) City of The Colony and Cities of: Little Elm, Frisco or others; any committees, task
forces, commissions, boards or bodies assigned or designated by them;
(e) Utilities, railroads, cable providers, or other public service entities boards or
COmtnlSSlOnS;
(f) Army Corps of Engineers, regional district or other appropriate officers.
(g) Homeowner associations, and public hearings;
B. Perform any other services mutually agreed upon by Client and the Finn; however,
either party may request an addendum to this Agreement in a form mutually agreeable to the parties
prior to the provision of additional services hereunder.
Tenn
The term of this Agreement shall be (i) until the scope of services set forth above has been
satisfactorily concluded, or (ii) until this Agreement is terminated by either party.
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Billing
The Finn shall bill the Œent montWy for services rendered and expenses incurred, in the
manner agreed to herein, until such time as this Agreement has expired by its own tenns or has been
tenninated. The Finn shall bill all attorney's fees based upon a consideration of time and bbor
involved, the skill requisite to perfonn the services properly, the preclusion of other employment by
the Finn due to acceptance of the matters identified herein, time limitations imposed by Œent or other
circumstances, results aclúeved, experience, reputation and ability, extraordinary time requirements,
and the Finn's hourly rates.
Œent understands that such rates at the time of entering into this Agreement range from
$175.00 to $325.00 dolJars per hour for attorneys and from $60.00 to $75.00 dolJars per hour for
paralegals and administrative assistants. Œent further understands that litigation rates for attorneys,
paralegals and administrative assistants are estimated in advance on a per case basis.
For budgetary planning pwposes, it is estimated that the preliminaty professional seIVices
outlined herein should be approximately $25,000. The Œent understands and acknowledges that this
is an estimate only and the actual cost, depending on the scope of services deftned and complexity
associated therewith, could cause the actual cost of the professional services rendered on behalf of the
Oient to be less than or more than the estimated cost.
Work pertonœd by the Finn on behalf of Œent under this Agreement for any given month
shall be billed by the Finn on or about the tenth (10th) day of the succeeding calendar month, and
Œent agrees to forward its payment within thirty (30) worlcing days following its receipt of such Finn
billing statement.
Reimbursements
In addition to such fees, Oient agrees to reimburse the Finn for any and all expenses incurred
in such matters including, but not limited to, fees fJXed by law or assessed by courts or other agencies,
travel expenses, photocop}IDg, núleage, postage, long distance calls charges, deposition costs, court
reporting costs, telecopier costs, binding costs, courier and special delivery services, and other out-of-
pocket expenses incurred with such matters in accord with the attached schedule.
G>nsultants
Œent authorizes the Finn to retain qualified consultants to assist the Finn's representation of
Œent before governmental agencies and with regard to technical matters within a range of ftxed hourly
rates charged from $90.00 to $150.00 per hour for consultants. Prior approval by Œent of the
consultant(s) and consultant(s) fee schedule shall be necessary. Billing by the Finn and payment by
Œent regarding fees and reimbursable expenses for seIVices rendered by consultant shall occur in a
manner consistent with this Agreement.
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Withdrnwal/T ennination
Œent agrees that the Finn shall be entided to withdraw from the engagement and tenninate
tlús Agreement upon failure of Œent to make timely payments as required hereunder. Œent shall be
entided to withdraw from this engagement and tenninate this Agreement upon prior written notice by
Œent to the Firm In the event of tennination of this Agreement, Œent shall pay to the Finn all
outstanding fees and expenses within thirty (30) days following receipt of the Finn's invoices for same.
Expressions of Opinion
Œent acknowledges that nothing in this Agreement and nothing in the Finn's statements to
dient shall be construed as a promise or a guarantee concerning the outcome of Œent's matters. The
Firm makes no such promises or guarantees. The Finn's comments concerning the outcome of
dient's matters shall represent expressions of opinion only.
Œent acknowledges and agrees that the Finn's entidement to pa}'Iœnt for fees and expenses
shall not be contingent upon the results obtained or the final disposition of the services for which the
Firm has been retained.
Conflicts of Interest
Œent agrees that the Finn may represent other businesses or interests who may now or in the
future provide goods or services to Œent. The Finn represents that it has reviewed its records and has
no present conflicts of interest involving Œent. The Finn will do all within reason necessaty to
prevent and avoid any situation that might constitute a conflict. In the event a conflict arises, the Finn
shall promptly advise Œent of such, in writing, and shall notify Œent of the Finn's proposal to resolve
the conflict.
Amendments/Modifications
dient and the Finn may amend or modify this Agreement at any time so long as such
amendment or modification is reduced to writing and is mutually agreed upon by Œent and the Firm
Miscellaneous I
I
I
Duplicate counterparts of this Agreement may be or may have been executed by the parties
hereto. Each such executed copy or countetpart shall have the full force and effect of an original
executed instrument.
Any notice or communication required or permitted hereunder shall be in writing, and shall be
I sent by (a) personal delivery (provided that such delivery is confmœd by the courier delivety service),
or (b) expedited delivety service with proof of delivery, or by United States mail, postage pre-paid,
registered or certified mail, or (d) pre-paid facsimile, addressed as follows:
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If to Œent: Dale A Oleatham If to the Finn: Thompson, Coe, Cousins &
Gty Manager Irons,1.L.P.
Gty of The Colony, Texas 700 North Pearl, 25th Floor
600 Main St. Dallas, TX 75201
The Colony, TX 75056 Attn: Rider Scott, Esq.
(972) 625-1756 - ph (214) 871-8294 - ph
(972) 624-2298 - fax (214) 871-8209 - fax
or to such other address or for the attention of such other person as hereafter shall be designated in
writing by the applicable parties sent in accordance herewith. Any such notice or communication shall
be deerœd to have been given at either the time of personal delivery or , in the case of delivery service
or certifIed or registered mail, as of the date of deposit or delivery to the Untied State Postal Service or
expedited delivery service in the manner provided herein, or, in the case of facsimile, upon receipt.
Any notice required by this Agreement shall be void and of no effect unless given in accordance with
the provisions of this paragraph. Either party hereto may change the address for notice specified
above for giving the other party two (2) days' advance, written notice of such change of address.
Worlcing Papers
Œent recognizes that working papers shall be assembled and accumulated by the Finn in
connection with this representation, and that sanr shall belong to and remain the property of the Finn.
Conflicts of Interest
Oient agrees that the Finn may represent other businesses or interests who may now or in the
future provide goods or services to Œent. The Finn represents that it has reviewed its records and has
no present conflicts of interest involving Œent. The Finn will do all within reason necessary to
prevent and avoid any situation that might constitute a conflict. In the event a conflict arises, the Finn
shall promptly advise Œent of such, in writing, and shall notify Œent of the Finn's proposal to resolve
the conflict.
COSTS AND ADVANCES FOR CLIENTS
While providing legal services, the £inn will often advance costs on behalf of the client, such as
court fIling fees, travel costs, long-distance telephone, photocopying, postage and other such costs.
These costs, which are in addition to the fees for legal services, are reimbursable by the client.
'This policy staterœnt sets forth the basis and nature of these charges so that the fInn can have
a clear understanding with its clients concerning these charges. If the fInn has a separate agreerœnt
with a client, that agreerœnt will, of course, apply. In the absence of such an agreement, the fInn will
follow this policy for the reimbursement of such costs.
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The majority of such expenses are subject to identification by means of receipts from third-
party vendors. Such cost advances are billed to the client and separately identified on all billings. In
addition, the ftnn provides vendor receipts for verification. In no case does the finn add a
II service" or" handling" charge.
Other costs are separately identified on the ftnn's bills, but generally are not supported by
third-party vendor receipts because such receipts are not readily available. Examples include long-
distance telephone charges, postage, photocopy expenses, telecopy charges, Federal Express and other
overnight delivery service expenses, and messenger service expenses. The finn has made arnmgements
through its own equipment or personnel or through third parties to provide such services in a
convenient and cost efftcient manner. The ftnn's charges for such services are based upon the costs
incurred by the ftnn in providing them. The following is a list of such charges most often incurred by
the finn and passed on to the client:
Long-distance telephone and telecopy $ cost
Computerized Legal research
(e. g. Westlaw& Lexis) $ cost
Photocopyingl $ .15 per page
Telecopytransmissions $ .50 per page
Delivery services $ cost
Special postage
(e.g. certified mail or special deliverrl $ cost
Mileage rate (IRS rate) $ .375 per mile
1his Agreement shall be construed under and in accordance with the laws of the State of
Texas, and all obligations of the parties created hereunder are perfonnable in Denton and Dallas
COunties, Texas. .
1his Agreement is executed by the authorized agents of Œent and the Finn, effective as of the
date ftrst above written.
THE COLONY, TEXAS THOMPSON, roE; COUSINS & IRONS, L.L.P.
k ..
By. Ç)~ o. ~-L - .- (Q"----' .
By:
Narœ: Dale A Cteatham Narœ: Rider Scott
Gty Manager Its: Partner
IIf bulk copying is involved, the £inn may use an outside copy service. A third-party vendor
receipt will be provided.
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