Ask Me Help Desk - Legal malpractice

In oct of 2002 our commercial triaxial was totalled by a client of progressive ins. 53 days from the accident , progressive took the salvage of our triaxial and sold it to a used truck lot in another state without our knowledge or concent. A few weeks later they paid the first lien holder(the bank). At that time, the insurance company still had not paid the requested damage done to the loss of pay due to the damage and the selling of our triaxial.we then sought legal counsel and signed a contract of representation on march 15th 2003. Months went on not hearing no more response from our attorney. In sept of 2003, we had to file bankruptcy due to no information how the case was or any information about it and due to the financial suffering we took for the unpaid insurance claim to that day. Approx 2 years later from the date of the accident, we are now receiving notices of hearings receiving. We appeared receiving of a 6 person jury in 2007, the verdict was, that progressive was found guilty of stealing our truck and damages caused to our company was 275,000.00. Progressive appalled it. After all this time, we ourselves found out they appalled it on the basis that our attorney did not file the case until aug of 2004, progressive did not legally receive the damages done until jan, 2005 2 years from the date of the accident. We then found out that , our attorney did not file that they were representing us through the bankruptcy system which is bankruptcy laws also which the attorney should have known. We had a 1.2000,000.00 case when it started. We were forced to settle at 45000.00 because of when and how the attorney didn't file. We have on hand papers and documents to support our the legal forced and damage caused to our lives because of having to file bankruptcy and soon losing our company after 18 years. Does this information support a legal malpractice claim and is there also a legal claim to grand theft larson against progressive for the sale our commercial truck without the knowledge and written concent of us , the owners?

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheryl7042

in oct of 2002 our commercial triaxial was totalled by a client of progressive ins. 53 days from the accident , progressive took the salvage of our triaxial and sold it to a used truck lot in another state without our knowledge or concent. a few weeks later they paid the first lien holder(the bank). at that time, the insurance company still had not paid the requested damage done to the loss of pay due to the damage and the selling of our triaxial.we then sought legal counsel and signed a contract of representation on march 15th 2003. months went on not hearing no more response from our attorney. in sept of 2003, we had to file bankruptcy due to no information how the case was or any information about it and due to the financial suffering we took for the unpaid insurance claim to that day. approx 2 years later from the date of the accident, we are now receiving notices of hearings receiving. we appeared receiving of a 6 person jury in 2007, the verdict was, that progressive was found guilty of stealing our truck and damages caused to our company was 275,000.00. progressive appalled it. after all this time, we ourselves found out they appalled it on the basis that our attorney did not file the case until aug of 2004, progressive did not legally receive the damages done until jan, 2005 2 years from the date of the accident. we then found out that , our attorney did not file that they were representing us through the bankruptcy system which is bankruptcy laws also which the attorney should have known. we had a 1.2000,000.00 case when it started. we were forced to settle at 45000.00 because of when and how the attorney didn't file. we have on hand papers and documents to support our the legal forced and damage caused to our lives because of having to file bankruptcy and soon loosing our company after 18 years. does this information support a legal malpractice claim and is there also a legal claim to grand theft larson against progressive for the sale our commercial truck without the knowledge and written concent of us , the owners?

What State are you in? How was Progressive able to get title and sell the vehicle?

(Just a side comment - I don't think it's very wise to give the name of the insurance company, particularly if this is an ongoing matter.)

I think you were typing fast and missed a word or two - what does "we have on hand papers and documents to support our the legal forced and the damage ..."

A very interesting case here but it sounds like the grand theft larceny claim has already been settled - if not, it's undoubtedly too late to go to Court. This was in 2002, right, 6 years ago? Too late for criminal charges to be filed.

Sounds like the accident destroyed your life; now the question is how to get your life back - but you already know this.

Need more info.

I guess my question is why when nothing was being done were you not in the lawyers office every week, or every other day getting updates and telling him what you wanted done.

Also it appears he is not a bankruptcy attorney, but a civil law attorney, even the bankruptcy attorneys are having issues with the new laws on bankruptcy, often having to research issues and they do dozens of bankrutpcy cases a week.

I would ask why did you not use a professional bankruptcy attorney,

Proving malpractice, means more than showing they lost but that they did not do something that another attorney in their position would have done.
Plus you have to have another attorney who will file a case against them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fr_Chuck

I guess my question is why when nothing was being done were you not in the lawyers office every week, or every other day getting updates and telling him what you wanted done.

Also it appears he is not a bankruptcy attorney, but a civil law attorney, even the bankruptcy attorneys are having issues with the new laws on bankruptcy, often having to research issues and they do dozens of bankrutpcy cases a week.

I would ask why did you not use a professional bankruptcy attorney,

Proving malpractice, means more than showing they lost but that they did not do something that another attorney in thier position would have done.
Plus you have to have another attorney who will file a case against them.

Right, particularly when it's a business bankruptcy - I'm having trouble understanding some of this. Back to how it was sold without a title -

And, Cheryl, please post your answers to me on the Board. I don't respond to private e-mails, particularly lengthy messages, simply because of the number I receive (unless someone asks in advance) and I also am not an Attorney and cannot give legal advice, just my opinion based on my experience.

So, fire away -

We Had Trouble Understanding It Too Until It All Unfolded After The Settlement. Our Attorney Showed Us In Oct Of 2007 An Itemized Account To How She Came To 1.2000,000.00 In Damages. We Agreed To The Damages That Were Done.our Truck Was Totalled, We Took A Loss Of Pay Of 26,000.00 The Following Month In Pay Cause We Had No Truck No Income From The Truck.in The Next Two Months Still No Settlement From The Insurance Co. Therefore The Loss Of Income Grew Larger. That's Why We Sought An Attorney. How They Received The Tittle, We Don't Know To This Day. We Are Still In Question. We Are Assumming, The Bank Released It To Them When They Paid The Lien Off A Few Weeks After The Ins Co Had Already Sold It. The Truck Lot Should Have Never Taken The Truck On A Promisory Tittle.we Still Don't Know Bitas And Pieces Of This. I Know For Sure The Attorney Knew All This The Whole Time But Did Not Communicate With Us And We Couldn't Understand Why. Something's Are More Clear Now After We Are Able To Read The Transcripts Form The Courthouse Of What Went On And We Didn't Know. I Think Our Attorney Had A Fiduciary Duty To Us From The Beginning. That Didn't Happen. We Did Some Research After The Settlement Case This Past Jan 31, 2008 And Found Out Our Attorney Had Did Some Late Filing In A Previous Case In 2003 For Another Client, The Whole Case Was Throwed Out Due To Probably The Lame Excuse That Was Offered To The Court For The Late Filing Of That Case. It Was Due To She Had An Illness She Had Been Fighting And She Was In And Out Of The Hospital. That Was Not Good Enough For The Court. We Now Believe That's What Has Been Done To Us. We Gave Her The Case In March Of 2003. We Have Now Found Out In Court Papers, She Did Not File The Suit Until August Of 2004. We Also Found Out , The Ins Co. Did Not Receive The Damages Legally Through The System Until Jan, 2005. The Law Suit Was All About Not Settling In Good Faith. Now I Know I Understand Why We Didn't Have A Case In The End. The Charges Of Not Paying In Good Faith Was Throwed Out The Window When The Attorney Waited 15 Months After We Signed A Contract For Councel With Her.in The Meantime, Not Hearing How The Case Was Going, We Had To File Bankruptcy 6 Months Later. Sept, 2003 Due To The Unsettled Insurance Claim. Now, We Know Thecase Was Never Filed Until The 15 Months Later. If That Is Not Legal Malpractice, I Don't Know. We Lost Our Home, Our Trucking Co After 18 Years. We Thought All That Time It Was The Insurance Company Not Setteling. That's What Our Attorney Lead Us To Believe. Court Papers Said Otherwise.