Former Major League Baseball Star Jose Canseco Sued For Legal Fees

Miami, FL (AHN) - Jose Canseco's former lawyer said on Tuesday that has filed a lawsuit against the retired baseball star for non-payment of legal fees.

Attorney Robert Saunooke has filed a lawsuit against the former major leaguer at Broward County Circuit Court on May 30 for the non-payment of legal fees for five years of work in and out of courtroom. "Instead of repaying funds advanced in litigation and paying timely all legal bills, Canseco set up fraudulent corporations in Florida and California to hide his assets," according to the lawsuit.

"I had thought he was a friend. That's why I stayed with him as long as I did," Saunooke, who represented Canseco from 2003 until this last April, told the Associated Press. "When you represent famous people, it's not easy to run away from them. I'm not the kind of lawyer that would desert my client."

Saunooke alleged that Canseco may owe him more than $500,000 for representing him in civil and criminal matters as well as negotiating contracts, book deals and plane tickets. Saunooke further avers that during the release of the former slugger's 2005 book titled, "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big," he demanded payment from the money earned by Canseco but instead was replaced by Gregory Emerson, his current lawyer.

On the other hand, a defiant Canseco says he will win any legal battle and court and has criticized his former attorney as one of many people who have attacked him since his revelations of steroid use in baseball. His lawyer counters that Saunooke already received his compensation which included two World Series rings from Canseco.

"He doesn't have any money problems," Saunooke, who accompanied Canseco during the 2005 congressional hearing on steroid use in Major League Baseball, told the Associated Press. "He just doesn't pay his bills."