More details to this question:
We started the legal process for vacating a dirt "paper" road by our lakeside home in Michigan 16 months ago. The County Road Commission is refusing to respond on whether it will agree to this. We want to cut our losses, withdraw the case and sell the property. We sought to vacate the road because we were being harassed by neighbors who constantly drove through even though they and other neighbors had direct access to their properties via another well-used road. We have had poor representation from our attorney who does not give us updates, has no strategy, is passive rather than pro-active and does not communicate with us. When we hired her, she assured us the road could be vacated as we had a strong case (we are the only residence on this dirt road and the south end of the road was closed 20 years ago), but it could take UP to a year. Do we need to pay her to file a motion to withdraw the case or can we do that ourselves. If so, how do we do this?
1 ANSWER
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Lawyers are busy people. I have empathy for the workload every lawyer lives under.
That said clients are entitled to be kept up on things.
Send a letter to the lawyer asking for a face to face meeting and 2 suggested times. If she does not reply, you will need to hire new counsel if you want the case to go forward. Be careful as, if you drop the case, you might be held liable for the other side's attorney fees.
Courts are jammed since COVID and that makes the process slow.
My advise, be civil, demand an update in writing and request monthly updates via email going forward.
The case ought to be straightforward but with real estate, the devil is in the details. This seems like an easement by prescription case.
Lastly, she might be having health issues. All that said, if you want new counsel, the best is to have new counsel substitute in, if you want to abandon the case, it is best to have her do it. If you want to fire her, she has to file a Motion to withdraw no one else can do it for her.
I only work in SE michigan if you live outside the region, I might be able to find you new counsel or you can go to the State Bar's lawyer referal service at 800 968 0738
Best of luck to you
Gil Borman
2483535555
Answered on Jan 01st, 2024 at 2:49 PM