QUESTION
im in a fee despurte with an attoney i found 3 ethic violations & poor case preperation causing monetery lose in 2014can i sue him for malpractice
Asked on Jul 02nd, 2016 on Legal Malpractice - Utah
More details to this question:
this attorney represent me in a estate settlement and a property line dispute. during this time he has double billed me, charged me of things he didn't do. didn't bill me for several years. ask him how much i owed told me 10K 1 year later it was 70K. I' m in a law suite with him, during the deposition he reduced it by 20k but we found 3 ethic violations. during the estate settlement he didn't complete a document correctly and it cost me 350k in property + 100k cash to the apposing side. The property line dispute, my fence had been in place for 53 years he didn't prep for the case and i lost the case and was ordered to move the fence where i gave up 50 acres. can i sue him for malpractice, file sanctions for the ethic violations or use this for leverage for him to drop his case. I've paid him over 60k to this point. this case was in Utah. my new attorney said i will have to pay him around 30-40K please give me some advise in this matter thank you
1 ANSWER
Family Law Attorney serving Salt Lake City, UT
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David R. Hartwig, Esq.
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I am sorry to hear that you are in such a mess, and that you are having the problems and difficulties you raise.
The short, and simple, answer is -- maybe. That is because there are a number of facts that need to be explored and addressed. The first is the four-year statute of limitations. I raise that because you state that these issues have gone on for several years. So, the issues will depend on when you actually learned of the errors. Also, you say you have a new attorney. When did you hire the new attorney, and how much did he participate in the case?
The best advice that I can give you is to actually sit down with an attorney who handles legal malpractice, and review the case and associated facts. You may very well have the bases for claims, but from your brief statement I cannot be sure.
I am currently in a position to accept such a matter, should you so desire. I offer an initial 1/2 hour consultation for free.
If you are interested, please call my assistant this coming Tuesday morning to set an appointment.
David R. Hartwig 801-486-1715
Answered on Jul 02nd, 2016 at 10:36 AM