A couple of years ago I hired a lawfirm to do some legal work for me regarding some property I own. They basically just took my money and didn’t do shit for me.
At the time, I didn’t do anything about it. Partly because I felt ashamed of being so easily taken advantage of and partly because I figured no way in hell would I be able to take on a freaking law firm in court.
Anyway, I just recieved a letter from jerk off company stating that they are filing for chapter 11. Apparently, somebody was brave enough to take them on and the (Texas) court ordered them to pay restitution.
So what now? Do I need to call some one and let them know I’m a victim and want my freak’n money back?
First, you can file a complaint with the state bar about their unethical conduct. Depending on the applicable state statute of limitations, you may be able to bring what’s called an adversarial proceeding in their Chapter 11 case which would assert your right as an unsecured creditor.
Depending on their overall financial situation (which can’t be good) you would probably be looking at your choice between hard dick and bubblegum, with the law firm being fresh out of bubblegum.
You received a letter as an interested party. Nobody will assume you have anything coming until and unless you present a claim. They did no work so your claim is at least what you paid. Look closely at that letter for the party to respond to with your claim. You want to go on record right away.
Thanks. But there is no indication on who I should contact. Really, it’s not even a letter. It’s just a legal form (B9F (official form 9f) filled out by jerk off lawfirm.
I filed a claim in a similar situation in my previous job. It’s been a few years so I can’t recall all the details, but I had to show up at the court house on the day of his hearing to have my claim recorded. I think the paper work indicated the date and time though.
You might call your local court house? Is there at least a county and a case number?
Call the relevant court (the one where the hearing is scheduled to take place) and tell them you are unable to appear, ask if you have any other options. Perhaps you could mail an affidavit, fill out a form, something like that. Doesn’t hurt to ask.
You can file a complaint with the Bar Committee against the particular lawyers, as someone else said. With enough complaints or serious enough complaints, they can be sanctioned or even disbarred. This is separate from the bankruptcy action, and you can do it here:
To expound further: In Chapter 11, the bankrupt company has an exclusive right for 6 months to propose a plan of reorganization. They will group creditors into different classes based upon the types of debts owed. If you file an adversarial proceeding, your claim will be an unliquidated one based upon the outcome of your lawsuit. You and others suing them will be placed in the same class. They will propose some cents on the dollar for what they owe, or they might propose to pay you nothing.
To confirm the plan, a majority of members of each class and 2/3s of the money claim in each class must vote to confirm. However, there is such a thing called “cramdown” where the business can pass a plan over the objections of a class, so long as they put their own personal new money back into the business. It’s sneaky and evil.
It would be worth at least a cursory investigation to see if the company has enough money to pay. It’s very likely, though, that they owe a bunch of money to people ahead of you in line so that you would get very little in return for your money. Plus you haven’t established yet that they owe you money. You would need an attorney to file this adversarial proceeding with no promise that you would win and no promise of seeing money if you do. Depending on the amount involved, maybe an attorney would take your case on a contingency. It’s worth looking into.
Now, if you are upset over a couple of hundred bucks, its probably best to let it go.
