digging out Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 Three years ago I hired a lawyer who I was unable to pay up front due to my situation and had an agreement to pay him in installments. In the agreement it stated that if I defaulted he could place a judgement on me without first giving me notice. I payed him the first two installments on time by a bank check, the next payment was by personal check which he accepted and cashed. I sent the following payment by the same means at which point he wrote a letter and said that he would not accept a personal check from me. I called and told him that he already cashed my personal check last month and that I will send a money order as soon as he returns my check. He never returned the check and three months later there was a judgement against me. My question is one -- can he do that without serving notice or does he still have to do due diligence and let me have my day in court. And two -- do I have a chance to have it vacated if I pay him what is still owed and prove to the court that he cashed one personal check and never sent me back the second... which I realize will be his word against mine and I did not put a stop payment on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Nashville/Savannah Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 I doubt he was obligated to send the check back...so long as he didn't cash it. In addition, you could have put a stop-payment order on the check if you were truly worried that he would cash it after saying he wouldn't.That said, it would seem to me he was justified in pursing you per your initial agreement.I do find it odd that he would change his mind about taking personal checks "mid-streem" but, I do think he had the right to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digging out Posted July 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 I did not put a stop payment on the check because unfortunately at that time I could not even spare the extra $20.00. How is that for pathetic? Also, he was not a good lawyer (you get what you pay for), completely unorganized... when I told him that he cashed the first check he had no idea. He finally agreed that he did after talking to someone else in the office... but still refused to cash the next one. I was so mad because of the shoddy job that he did I cut off my nose despite my face and refused to pay him unless he returned my check. You can make some pretty bad choices when you are scared and in debt. There is a reason for the expression "The rich get richer and the poor get poorer". Now that I am back on my feet I am trying to clean up my Credit and am willing to pay all his cost and extra charges but I want him to vacate the judgement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Nashville/Savannah Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 I uderstand your feelings, however, "feelings" usually have veryy little to do with the law; which is, after all, what we are deling with here...if you had kept paying on time excepe for that "one" payment, you would be in a much stronger position...unfortunately, by stopping all payments, you painted yourself into an corner.You might simply try asking him to vacate the judgment in exchange for immediate payment; he may go for it. Besides, if he is as bad of an attorney as you believe he probably needs cash a lot more then he needs to ding your credit! If he refuses, you can always pay and at the same time, file a complaint with your local Bar association (and/or whatever state agency oversees attorney's in your state) about the way he handled this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digging out Posted July 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 I know that you are right... I guess I was hoping that regardless of "feelings" there might just be a loop hole for the fact that I was not served, regardless of what I signed, and it would be open and shut. Thanks for answering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recovering Attorney Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 sounds like he had you sign a confession of judgment for his fees. Sounds like he had his own cash flow problem and wanted to accellerate payments. You might want to check with the Bar or grievance committee to see if that is ethical. I would think he would gladly vacate for you, expecially if he did a no-no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digging out Posted July 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 Dear Recoving Attorney,No, he will NOT gladly vacate... he is a mean, nasty, vindictive man. I only took him because he was cheaper then the rest and I was desperate. I am not sure what you mean by "sign a confession of judgement". However, I will contact the Bar grievance committee -thanks for that idea, I really appreciate it. I am planning to pay him the rest of his fee on Thursday... this is why I would like to have something to provoke him into vacating it. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digging out Posted July 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 If he will not vacate the judgement, but I satisfy it, how much will that affact my credit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betam4x Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Dear Recoving Attorney,No, he will NOT gladly vacate... he is a mean, nasty, vindictive man. I only took him because he was cheaper then the rest and I was desperate. I am not sure what you mean by "sign a confession of judgement". However, I will contact the Bar grievance committee -thanks for that idea, I really appreciate it. I am planning to pay him the rest of his fee on Thursday... this is why I would like to have something to provoke him into vacating it. Thanks again.A threat to file a complaint with your state's bar association for unethical practices could do the trick, if it doesn't, contact the bar and file a complaint. You'd be surprised at how quickly this can get results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digging out Posted July 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 After reading the reply from Recovering Attorney I called the Union County Bar Grievance Assoc. only to find out that they are on vacation until the end of the week!!! Who closes a whole department??? Anyway, I will absolutely call first thing on Monday, but I am still not sure what my grievance is. That he did a shoddy job... not good enough. That he was mean, nasty and vandictive... maybe, but I think that that is here say. But, can I get him on having me sign an agreement regarding the hammer clause of a automatic judgement? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digging out Posted July 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 With all those hits someone must have something... I'll take anything! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDL Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 But, can I get him on having me sign an agreement regarding the hammer clause of a automatic judgement? Yes, exactly. He may have violated his ethics by having you sign a confession of judgment for his fees.Most people probably just pay it figuring he's the lawyer, he knows better. Call and ask if their allowed to do this, if not call the lawyer and tell him you know better now. If he still refuses then file the complaint.I'm surprised, most lawyers wait until their out of legal malpractice range, to go after their fees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digging out Posted July 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Thanks so much everybody... I will let you know what happens! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digging out Posted July 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Since the Grievance Committee decided to take a vacation this week I decided to do a little research. I was told that I may be able to have a judgement removed because the lawyer who originally filed it had me sign an agreement that if the payments weren't on time, or paid, he would be able to file a judgement on me without serving me. The reason for the filing would be "Confession of Judgement"... well I looked everywhere for hours today and I am not able to :confused:find anything regarding exactly what that is... can someone please out it in terms that I can understand and research? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Methuss Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 A confession of judgment is a contractual form that says if you default on the agreement he doesn't have to take you to court to prove it. Your signature on that document says you admit guilt of default as soon as he executes it. All he has to do is file a copy with the clerk and the judgment is entered against you without any sort of trial.If you signed such a document he would have had to give you a copy of it at the time of the agreement.After reading your description though I do not think he would win if you challenged it. You made a good faith payment which he refused to accept; by a means that he had previously accepted and had no reason to believe would not be honored (you don't mention any previous checks to him bouncing). I believe you could argue that he executed the confession of judgment in bad faith.The largest issue you face here is that I doubt you could find a lawyer in the same bar area to pursue it for you. They tend to protect their own kind in such matters. Maybe you could get one from another area and have the complaint filed as an Attorney Pro Hac Vice (which means an out of town lawyer is permitted to practice in an area he is not directly licensed) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digging out Posted July 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2008 That will help a lot with my argument. Is there a place that you know where I could go and find the legal definitions I may need? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Nashville/Savannah Posted July 18, 2008 Report Share Posted July 18, 2008 You can find plenty of legal resources on the web; free and otherwise...google is your friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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