State Rep. Ron Reynolds: Sued, Convicted and Now Bankrupt

After a spate of legal troubles in recent years related to his personal injury law practice in Houston – lawsuits resulting in multiple costly settlements, criminal convictions and the suspension of his law license — state Rep. Ron Reynolds has filed for bankruptcy.

Court records show the embattled Missouri City Democrat owes creditors more than $1.3 million, including $700,000 to former clients who were awarded money after suing Reynolds for keeping their portion of legal settlements.

In May, for instance, a Harris County judge awarded Nancy Calloway $504,000 in damages after she sued Reynolds for malpractice, claiming he improperly kept some of the settlement money owed to her in a case involving her daughter’s traffic death. Reynolds’ bankruptcy filing details that Reynolds is indebted to Calloway for $450,000.

He’s on the hook for another $450,000 to medical providers and imaging centers, more than $3,000 in unpaid tolls and $15,000 owed to the Texas Ethics Commission. Reynolds is behind in filing his campaign finance reports to the ethics commission. Records show he hasn’t filed since before the March 1 primary election.

Reynolds did not immediately return a request for comment.

His bankruptcy, first reported by KTRK TV in Houston, shows the Chapter 7 – Liquidation filing dates back to early August. According to the Bankruptcy Code, Chapter 7 is for people who have trouble paying debts and want their “debts discharged.” Some debts, including “most fines, penalties, forfeitures, and criminal restitution obligations,” will not be absolved.

Despite a November 2015 conviction on five counts of illegal solicitation of legal clients and years of fighting similar cases in court, Reynolds garnered the most votes in a four-way Democratic primary on March 1 and beat Angelique Bartholomew in the May runoff, 53 percent to 47 percent. He faces Republican Ken Bryant, a former Fort Bend ISD trustee, in the November general election. 

Read more of the Tribune's coverage:

• State Rep. Ron Reynolds, a Democrat from Missouri City, is busy appealing convictions and settlement judgments related to his law practice, but he says he’s confident he can ‘easily’ win re-election.  
• Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, already facing the possible suspension of his law license over charges he illegally solicited clients, was ordered Friday to pay $504,000 to a former client for keeping her share of a settlement. 
• It’s odd that one officeholder could be convicted, exonerated, re-indicted, convicted and sentenced without completely endangering his political career while another could get knocked out of contention while blaming an indictment.