Legal Malpractice

Alcohol and Legal Malpractice?

By (Andrew Lavoott Bluestone)

The West Virginia Record reports this case in which plaintiff was terminated by his employer.  Plaintiff's claim is that he was fired for doing jury service.  He retained defendant attorney, and the case was litigated in Federal District Court, where it was dismissed on summary judgment. 

Plaintiff claims that the attorney did not depose supporting witnesses, did not follow up on deposition questions, and did not seek discovery.  Worst of all he claims that the attorney came to meeting intoxicated.

"Fleischmann says Deel accompanied him to several depositions throughout 2005 and 2006, but that he "failed to follow up on any deposition questions, and he failed (to) make contact or get depositions from any of the seven witnesses provided to him by me."

He says he also gave Deel physical and date documentation supporting his case, but Deel "appeared at both meetings apparently intoxicated, and failed to retain the information I tried to provide."

Fleischmann says he e-mailed the information to Deel, but he failed to act on it. And Deel failed to respond to numerous e-mail and phone requests for an update on the case, the complaint states.

On Dec. 1, 2005, PRG-Schultz filed a motion for summary judgment. Deel failed to respond, according to the complaint, and the case was dismissed Jan. 10, 2006.

Fleischmann says he learned on Feb. 8, 2006, that he and Deel had 24 hours to filed for reinstatement of the case. Fleischmann said he contacted Deel, who said he "was busy" and wouldn't do anything about it."

Full post as published by New York Attorney Malpractice Blog on January 22, 2008 (boomark / email).