QUESTION
My lawyer failed to submit my certificate for the classes to the courts. My case was dismissed today and he has the certificates? What can I do?
Asked on Jul 31st, 2012 on Bankruptcy - Oklahoma
More details to this question:
I am enrolled in a legal plan thru work and it is deducted out of my paycheck. I had to file Bankruptcy and used one of the in plan attorneys. I paid the court filing fees, and did the required classes. My attorney called me today and said my case was dismissed! I could not believe it, I asked why he said because you did not take the 2nd class. I absolutely did and also let him know when it was complete, this was a month ago. I used the same service as the first class, there is an attorney code to enter and they have all of his information. He kept saying that we could re-open the case if I pay the filing fees again? "While I was asking how did it get to this? I was expecting discharge papers in the mail instead he is telling me it was dismissed. While on this phone call he says to me oh.. here is the certificate.. I said for the second class and he said yes. How can this be possible he is being paid to represent me. Looking it up online it is not good. what can I do?
1 ANSWER
Bankruptcy Attorney serving Burbank, CA
Partner at
Law Office of Mark J. Markus
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3 Awards
This is a common mistake made by people who are representing themselves, but it is even more unfortunate when it happens to someone who is represented by an attorney, so I very sorry you are having to deal with this. The quality of the attorney you select is important in bankruptcy, as this is a tricky area of law.
At this point, your only option is to file a Motion with the bankruptcy court to reopen your case to allow you to file the course certificate (Form 23) and receive your discharge. If this is the attorney's fault, then he/she should do this for you without further charge. There is a court filing fee of $260 to reopen the case (if it has already been closed) which must be paid by someone.
You need to consult with the administrators of the legal plan you are a part of because that will probably determine what, if anything, you have to pay for to fix this.
Mark J. Markus, Attorney at LawCertified Bankruptcy Law Specialist--State Bar of California Board of Legal SpecializationHandling exclusively bankruptcy law cases in California since 1991.http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy blog: http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy-blog/Follow Me on Twitter: @bklawr
Answered on Aug 01st, 2012 at 2:09 PM