| Are Lawyer Actually Allowed to Lie in Court Filings?
What is the name of your state? IL
Hi everyone. I need some advice. Following is a much-shortened version of my current situation.
In August 2004, my husband was brought back to court by his ex-wife, who is attempting to get more money out of my husband for child support. My husband's ex-wife has retained an attorney who, according to our attorney, is one of the most unethical attorneys in the greater Chicagoland area.
Our problem is this...my husband has provided all of the discovery documents that were requested, including tax returns, paystubs, retirement plan information, etc. His ex-wife's attorney has made many statements within her filed petitions and responses that are outright false. The thing is, she has the discovery documents that prove that her statements are false and outright lies, yet she continues to file these malicious lies. This has not stopped her from lying in her statements, and my husband is forced with the burden of proving again and again that her statements are false.
For example, her attorney has stated in one filing that her client is entitled to 28% of my husband's net income because there are two minor children (incorrect, at the time of the writing of that statement, my stepson was 19, my stepdaughter was 16 - the age of emancipation in Illinois is 18). She had copies of my husband's employment records because she subpoenaed them, but insisted that my husband commenced his new job one month later than he actually started, then used that false information to figure out his annual salary, which was grossly inflated due to her incorrect statement starting out. All of this information she already has in her possession, yet she continues to make false and inaccurate statements in every filing that she brings forward. She has also made incorrect gross income statements based on my husband's gross income resulting from joint tax returns.
Is this behavior defamatory? What does it mean that a lawyer's statements are "privileged"? What kind of recourse, besides filing a complaint with the Chicago Bar Association, does he have? My husband is very concerned that his ex-wife's attorney's lies and false statements are going to influence the judge when this matter goes to trial. We have concrete evidence to prove everything she says to the contrary, but what recourse do we have? We have spent many sleepless nights worrying about this.
Please help and thanks for listening!! | 
12-29-2004, 10:43 AM
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