Attorney took my money and RAN.

[soundingoff]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TEXAS

I hired an attorney to represent me on an illegal eviction case. When I had my first initial meeting he laid out how I had been completely violated with an unclear eviction and an illegal lockout. I retained him and signed a "non-refundable" contract on the grounds that he would represent me in court and do whatever else needed pertaining to this case.

The day after I signed the contract he called me and said he "personally" knew the lawyer representing my landlord and that they could make an agreement to drop all charges if I also agreed to drop all charges. Although, my landlord would have owed me a lot of money for everything he did illegally my lawyer convinced me that dropping all charges on both ends was a GREAT deal so I agreed because he was reluctant to do anything else. I was quickly emailed by my lawyer an agreement outlining what myself and the landlord agreed upon, and I signed it and sent it back to my lawyer.

Court was on May 29th and I had yet to hear from my lawyer since May 9th the day I signed the agreement. I have called and left numerous messages with his secretary and sent emails with no reply JUST TO SEE WHAT IS GOING ON.

My mother works for the county and learned that my lawyer never delivered the signed agreement or even showed up for court. I called the lead lawyer of this firm and he said he would make sure my lawyer would call me. My lawyer finally called me today at 8 am and left a voicemail saying he received my "numerous" calls (that he never responded to) and that the case went fine, he didn't have to show up for court because it was settled before the court-date and he would send me court documents proving he did his job. The case was dismissed at the mercy of my landlord just wanting this case to be over with.

Where do I go from here? Also, how do I go about getting my money back other than contacting the bar association and suing him? Every-time I call his secretary says he's not there!!! This is not some rinky dink lawyer either, he is apart of a big law firm here and I'm scared that I just have to deal with the fact that I got bamboozled.

 

[justalayman]

Are you saying there was no agreement with your LL as your lawyer stated?

If not, what happened in court?

 

[soundingoff]

Are you saying there was no agreement with your LL as your lawyer stated?

If not, what happened in court?

Lawyer made an agreement that was sent to me via email, I signed it and emailed it back to him on May 9th. He never delivered the agreement to my landlords attorney. Their attorney tried numerous times to reach my attorney and he never returned their calls. The case was on May 29th and dismissed but on the grounds that I pay court fees and attorney fees because the agreement was never delivered nor was any council (including myself because I thought my lawyer would be there) was present.

I'm pretty certain he forgot about my case.

 

[justalayman]

well, is there some reason you were not at the hearing?

why would the LL dismiss this? It sounds like the LL's attorney was aware of the agreement and his client dismissed his case against you due to that agreement. If not, why would the LL drop his case? He would have asked for a default judgment yet he didn't.

 

[soundingoff]

well, is there some reason you were not at the hearing?

why would the LL dismiss this? It sounds like the LL's attorney was aware of the agreement and his client dismissed his case against you due to that agreement. If not, why would the LL drop his case? He would have asked for a default judgment yet he didn't.

Yes, obviously their attorney is aware of the agreement he wrote it. But my lawyer never returned a sign copy back to him. So when their attorney hadn't heard anything from him he assumed he was going to bring it the day of court but he didn't show or return their phone calls. They still dismissed, but they still want attorney fees.

My lawyer is unaware that I know all of this and lied and said he delivered the agreement.

 

[justalayman]

Yes, obviously their attorney is aware of the agreement he wrote it. But my lawyer never returned a sign copy back to him. So when their attorney hadn't heard anything from him he assumed he was going to bring it the day of court but he didn't show or return their phone calls. They still dismissed, but they still want attorney fees.

My lawyer is unaware that I know all of this and lied and said he delivered the agreement.

Your claims make no sense. If the LL's attorney was not under the belief the agreement was accepted, then I see no reason they would have dropped their suit against you yet it was.

More likely: both attorney's understood there was an agreement in principle and that is why the LL's case was dropped.



and given your explanation, your suit is still pending. So, what is the status of your suit?


So, why weren't you at court?
I understand your lawyer is not responsive to you. Yes, that is a problem. I understand you believe you are due a refund, for some reason but I do not see it, at least based solely on what you have stated. It appears there was some negotiation and a settlement was reached. He has represented you in the case. As to the no show in court: if there was an agreement in principle, one attorney can often handle the situation. Courts can be a friendly place if the parties representatives are known to the court. What could have transpired in the court could have been something such as:

LL's attny: your honor, the other party and we have come to an agreement in principle. I was under the understanding the attny for the other party would be here today but has not shown for some reason. Regardless, due to the agreement in principle I see no reason to continue our case and ask to have it dismissed, without prejudice, in case this agreement does not end up settling the matter.


as to attorney's fees: I think you should read the agreement. If it didn't include a requirement for you to pay attny fees for the other party, then I see no reason you are required to pay them. For the court to order you to pay fees, the court would have actually had to enter a judgment against you but since the LL dropped their case, that didn't happen.

 

[soundingoff]

tl;dr

Both parties were to drop all charges if the agreement was signed and turned in the day of court. I signed the agreement that was drawn up by the other parties lawyer and returned it to my lawyer. He forgot to show up to court on the 29th and turn it in. So in return they believed I turned down the agreement and like most suits are charging me for all legal fees which include attorney fees, this isn't a new concept.

My agreement with my attorney was that he would act on behalf of me hence, why I did not show up for court. What else is there to explain? The whole confusion of the case being dismissed really isn't important because my attorney neglected his obligations that were outlined in the agreement the second he didn't show up for court. The other party even tried calling my attorney the day of court to see where he was and he returned no ones calls.

Like I stated he earlier, he is unaware that I am contact with the other parties attorney. I contacted my attorney today to terminate his services and still no response. I talk with his secretary who puts me on hold and then fwd me to his vm.


Clearly, I just need advice on how to get my money back when I signed a non-refundable contract.

I don't think this is confusing.

 

[justalayman]

soundingoff;3061146]tl;dr

Both parties were to drop all charges if the agreement was signed and turned in the day of court. I signed the agreement that was drawn up by the other parties lawyer and returned it to my lawyer. He forgot to show up to court on the 29th and turn it in. So in return they believed I turned down the agreement and like most suits are charging me for all legal fees which include attorney fees, this isn't a new concept.

well, if they dropped their suit, then yes, it is a new concept. They cannot ask or receive attorney fees if they dropped their case. There is something going on you are not aware of or understand. Which I can't say.

My agreement with my attorney was that he would act on behalf of me hence, why I did not show up for court.

that has nothing to do with you showing up in court. There are times where a party to the action is not required to attend court but this wasn't one of them, at least given the matter to be dealt with.

What else is there to explain?

The whole confusion of the case being dismissed really isn't important because

yes, it is because, and especially since you said part of the agreement was that it was brought to this hearing so since it wasn't, there was absolutely no reason for the LL to drop their action against you...yet they did. Makes absolutely no sense.

my attorney neglected his obligations that were outlined in the agreement the second he didn't show up for court.

seriously? That was in the agreement? I guess if court was postponed, the agreement was no longer in effect because it could not be performed as written.

The other party even tried calling my attorney the day of court to see where he was and he returned no ones calls.

and the point? That in itself doesn't mean anything.

Like I stated he earlier, he is unaware that I am contact with the other parties attorney. I contacted my attorney today to terminate his services and still no response. I talk with his secretary who puts me on hold and then fwd me to his vm.

The other attorney should have told you:

I am sorry but you have representation and the ethics rules imposed by the state do not allow me to speak with a party that has representation. but yet, that didn't happen.

Clearly, I just need advice on how to get my money back when I signed a non-refundable contract.

I don't think this is confusing.

No but your explanation of the situation is and very incomplete. I suppose if I wanted money back I would start with a letter to the lawyer....like I suggested awhile back.

 

[las365]

So there is a judgment against you for attorney fees? Do you have a copy of it?

 

[soundingoff]

Clearly, I am not explaining little meaningless details. Obviously the other parties attorney had me fax in a signed form that I have terminated council with my previous attorney. I am not going to go over OBVIOUS notions that happen when you retain an attorney.

I stopped reading whatever else it was you were saying because you're just going around in circles. Stop asking questions that have nothing to do with my original question.

 

[soundingoff]

So there is a judgment against you for attorney fees? Do you have a copy of it?

Appeal was dismissed not the other 2 cases because although there was an agreement negotiated it was never turned in to the other attorney which is OUTLINED in my contract as well as MY attorney showing up representing me in court.

I'm not going into great deal because I just want to be safe, you never know. But obviously this attorney didn't do what he was obligated to do.

 

[soundingoff]

well, if they dropped their suit, then yes, it is a new concept. They cannot ask or receive attorney fees if they dropped their case. There is something going on you are not aware of or understand. Which I can't say.

that has nothing to do with you showing up in court. There are times where a party to the action is not required to attend court but this wasn't one of them, at least given the matter to be dealt with.

What else is there to explain? yes, it is because, and especially since you said part of the agreement was that it was brought to this hearing so since it wasn't, there was absolutely no reason for the LL to drop their action against you...yet they did. Makes absolutely no sense.

seriously? That was in the agreement? I guess if court was postponed, the agreement was no longer in effect because it could not be performed as written.

and the point? That in itself doesn't mean anything.

The other attorney should have told you:

I am sorry but you have representation and the ethics rules imposed by the state do not allow me to speak with a party that has representation. but yet, that didn't happen.



No but your explanation of the situation is and very incomplete. I suppose if I wanted money back I would start with a letter to the lawyer....like I suggested awhile back.

Also, there were other pending cases that the agreement my lawyer was supposed to turn in would have terminated. I owe fees on those cases, just not the one that was currently dismissed.

It is confusing, I get that. I am purposely leaving info out just incase. But to make things clear:

-I hired an attorney to settle multiple cases.
-He said he could with an agreement.
-I was sent the agreement and signed it.
-My attorney did not show up for court with the signed agreement.
-Nor did he EVER return any calls from me or the other parties attorney.
-The other party dropped current charges but not previous.

Which is my problem. If he had turned in the form all charges and fees would have been dropped. But because he didn't, I owe monies to the other party.

 

[justalayman]

So now you want to toss in various bits of info that change everything again. Sorry to bother you so much but everything I asked was pertinent to your situation whether you wish to believe so or not. As realized in your last post, there is a lot of information still out there that weighs heavily on the situation. I guess I can't help you, especially since you desire/need to withhold information required to understand your situation.

If you believe your attorney owes you money, send a registered letter stating that. Once that is received, if he fails to do as you believe you are owed, you can either attempt to sue him or yes, if you believe his practices unethical, contact the state bar. They often mediate a solution.

Best of luck to ya.

 

[You Are Guilty]

I tried to follow the events here and gave up after the second reading. With the caveat that I have absolutely no clue whether there is any sort of viable claim for a refund of attorneys fees here, this is how you would go about it if there was:

http://www.texasbar.com/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Client_Attorney_Assistance_Program_CAAP_

 

[soundingoff]

So now you want to toss in various bits of info that change everything again. Sorry to bother you so much but everything I asked was pertinent to your situation whether you wish to believe so or not. As realized in your last post, there is a lot of information still out there that weighs heavily on the situation. I guess I can't help you, especially since you desire/need to withhold information required to understand your situation.

If you believe your attorney owes you money, send a registered letter stating that. Once that is received, if he fails to do as you believe you are owed, you can either attempt to sue him or yes, if you believe his practices unethical, contact the state bar. They often mediate a solution.

Best of luck to ya.

I understand that. But there really is no need to know every single damn detail. It's pretty clear that there is some type of neglect on my lawyers behalf. The best advice would have been to direct to me the CAAP, like the person below mentioned. I do however appreciate you spending the time trying to help me out .