Real Estate & Property Law

Don't Get Bamboozled Into A Lawsuit!

Okay, now I have seen it one too many times and feel the need to vent. There is no such thing as a "slam dunk" in court.

The scenario is this. A party - it may be a homeowner, it may be an HOA or Condo Association board - goes to an attorney and that attorney gets all excited about their "case". He or she says "THIS IS SOMETHING YOU SHOULD LITIGATE, DEFINITELY. IT's A "SLAM DUNK".

Some other word may be used instead of slam dunk. It may be "a great case", "a winner", "you are clearly in the right", or something like that.

I am going to keep this to the homeowners association context because that is where my experience lies. Guess what, it does not always matter if you are in the "right". And many times, the situation seems like you are in the "right" and then you find out you are in the "wrong" - wrong frame of mind I mean.

Something that happens all too often is the attorney says (taking a retainer up front), I need a $5,000 retainer to get the lawsuit started. Since its such a good case it should not be protracted or cost a lot more than that.

What the client hears is "for about $5,000, we can win this case."

When the attorney turns around and says "I need another $5,000 to take this to the next step, now remember, you may be able to recover your attorney fees in this case." the client hears: "{For whatever reason is imagined}, another $5,000 should win it and then you will not only win but get your legal fees back."

... and so on, and so on, until things are up around $25,000 or $80,000 or more. And then the client is in so deep they do not know what to do next.

I do not know whether it is the client who does not hear the attorney, or the attorney who does not present ALL POSSIBILITIES, INCLUDING THE BEST AND WORST POSSIBLE SCENARIOS in any matter that ends up in court. People do not understand additionally that once a lawsuit is filed, and the attorneys fees mount in cost, that one cannot simply drop the lawsuit and expect no ramification. Dismissing a lawsuit does not dismiss the possibility (in California at least) that the other side might file to recover their fees, calling the dismissal a failure to "prevail".

Don't get sucked into a lawsuit without a full understanding of what can happen. To come next, a blog about a true case called: "There's No Such Thing As A Slam Dunk!" And don't forget to look back at this blog: "Should You Get a Second Legal Opinion Before Suing?"

Full post as published by California Condo & HOA Law on February 05, 2010 (boomark / email).