So here's the story. Wife got rear ended in an accident 2½ years ago. Go to court in July this year after initially being awarded $11,800 by an arbitrator. Jury fuck us and award $4800 instead.

Settlement check arrives in Our Lawyer Chriostopher J Piekarski and Me & My wifes names.

So Lawyer has us sign the check over to him, so he can disperse the $1200 owed to the Chiropractor, take his 33.3% and pay us the rest.

Lawyer then disappears off of the face of the earth, doesn't return calls or emails. So today I start looking the guy up online and it appears he was suspended from the State Bar etc.

http://www.supreme.state.az.us/dc/2007_scanned/DC_Reports/Piekarski_DC_rpt.pdf
http://www.myazbar.org/AZAttorney/PDF_Articles/1007lawreg.pdf

"Mr. Piekarski knowingly practiced law while summarily suspended for failure to comply with mandatory continuing legal education requirements. While suspended, he made numerous appearances in court, filed numerous pleadings, continued to engage new clients, performed legal services for existing clients and failed to inform his clients or the court that he had been suspended."

So - sounds like he was potentially suspended while he handled his case. What now? I have to sue my own lawyer for the settlement money? lol. This is getting crazy. I know lawyers get a bad rap - but this guy sure ain't helping.

Check with your state. New York, for example, has a fund out of which clients who have been screwed can seek some small measure of reimbursement.

I have a plan I think. Gonna find out everything possible about the guy that is available from Public Records. Then stick it all on my newly purchased domain - Christopher-Piekarski.com

Addresses, Phone Numbers, Email Addresses I have already.

Will put a nice story on there to explain what happened to us. Nothing defamatory of course - him being a lawyer & all! lol.

Then we'll see if he wants it to go away.

Can you physically find him? If you can, it seems pretty cut and dry.

Cut and dry in what way? I'm not gonna beat the $4800 out of him. Although the thought crossed my mind.

I'd imagine if he did this to us, there are others out there who are looking for him too. I think my dastardly plan will be effective. It worked for me once before when I got screwed by an Engine Replacement company. My Google Ranking Skillz got my site above theirs and they paid me off to make me go away! lol.

I'm not talking about beating the $4800 out of him. I'm talking about beating the $4800 out of his mother.

Where there's a will, there's a way.

Talk to another lawyer (I know I know) and see what your avenues for getting your judgment overturned for incompetent council or some such deal.

All the while, doing your Google ranking thing

Don't do that Rinky. You will just make the case worse for yourself. You will also be allowing him to build a case against you.

He will get an injunction against you to take the site down.... and he will get it.

One thing I don't understand about your original case..... If it was settled by arbitration, how was it ever allowed to advance to a jury? Settlement is supposed to mean just that... it is settled. It goes no further.

After paying a $1200 medical bill, then taking a one third contingency fee, he owes you $2400 (He may even claim the one third comes from the total and owe you $2000).

That basically brings the amount owed to you down to small claims court levels (at least by the standards here). You may never see that money.

This guy was suspended on 5/14/04. It looks like he took you on as a client after he was suspended. You are going to have to talk to another lawyer (a real lawyer). You may have more of a civil case against this guy than just the money he owes you.

EDIT: Actually it looks like he was licensed to practice when he took you on as a client Rinky.

Don't do the web site thing.

Go to Pirate4x4 and "Wenzel" him.

It was settled in Arbitration - then Farmers Insurance who we were filing against waited 29 days or whatever the maximum they were allowed to wait, then they appealed. It then goes to court upon appeal.

In court they had a Chiropractor of their own testifying that my wife received to much treatment for her Whiplash ($6200 total in medical bills), even tho he had never physically examined her himself, just based on the Medical records. The jury obviously believed him, even after he testified to the fact that he was being paid $400 an hour by Farmers. So the Jury pretty much fucked us by awarding less than the medical bills. But luckily Geico our own insurer picked up $5k in medical, so all that is owed now is about $1200 to the Chiropractor.

Under the Freedom of Speech act I don't think he can have the site taken down that easily. I work in the Domain / Hosting industry, so I know a thing or 2 about what is and is not legal on a web site. Not going to post anything that cannot be found in public records. I'll even reference where the information came from.

Plus the story I tell on the site isn't fabricated, it will be pretty much what I posted here.

For half of that, I will. The kid's getting low on diapers and formula.

Are we not capable of our own Wenzel, do we have to rely on some other site?

You just stated above that he was disbarred. He was not. That is a form of libel.

All I'm saying is just be careful. I wouldn't do the web site thing if I were you.

How old is the guy and what city does he live? Was he possibly born around 1971? Maybe I can get his home address for you. Not to be published on the web either.

much more traffic there Rog..

I doubt they would be interested in a Wenzel. Not like I'm a member over there or anythin.

Yep.....things like that have been done....so I've heard.

I still think Sharham's idea has merit . . .

i agree... sounds to me you can sue him for your money as well as malpractice...

Originally posted by NY Madman:

Quote:

You just stated above that he was disbarred. He was not. That is a form of libel.

No, he said he was suspended by the bar. Two different things.

Quote:

All I'm saying is just be careful. I wouldn't do the web site thing if I were you.

Good advice. If you're going to post stuff online, be more accurate than Madman.

As Al Capone once said:
"You can get further with a kind word and a gun, than with a kind word alone"

I'm just sayin'.

I'm not even that bothered about our cut of the money, not like I was relying on it for somethin. I'm more bothered about the fact that the Chiropractor is still owed $1200 and they are likely to go after us for it I imagine.

I'm just pissed that someone that we put trust in to handle our case, is capable of just running off with the money after it was settled.

I imagine the Chiropractor could also take the guy to small claims for their $1200 and we could go after him for our share separately, will speak to the Chiropractors office today.

1971 sounds about right. I believe he lives in Scottsdale, AZ.