hello,
In August 2023, P2 was unfairly pulled over for DUI on his way home from work, and after more than a year of litigation, the case was closed a month ago in October 2024.
Naturally, the DUI charge was dropped, but it ended up with one year of probation + $800 for reckless driving. Of course, nothing came out of the urine and blood tests.
During this process, I hired a DUI lawyer and initially paid $3,500 as an upfront fee. However, the lawsuit dragged on (I appeared in court about 10 times, but nothing was done each time and it was just rescheduled), and only at the last minute, in August 2024, did the lawyer update me that the prosecution might present a deal related to the DUI charge. We were naturally expecting to win the case 99% of the time, but the lawyer asked us to decide whether to go to trial ($3,500 for bench or $10,000 for jury), and we said we would decide once we see a deal. However, the lawyer has been quietly pushing the case as if the case will no longer proceed unless payment is made. If it goes to trial We decided to conduct a bench trial. During this process, the lawyer also told me hundreds of times that if I didn’t go to trial, this money would be refunded. I should have left this in writing by email, but I was complacent and only received a verbal promise, thinking I would have to take it away. The DUI was dropped anyway, and I didn’t want to waste $3,500, so I gave up on the trial and accepted the deal suggested by the accuser, and the case was closed.
However, when the lawsuit was over, the lawyer in charge told me that he had no authority regarding refunds and that I should call the representative lawyer to handle it. He also added that it will be up to that person to decide whether to write a check or refund the money to the credit card used.
I later called the representative attorney and he said that he would not be able to refund the $3,500 because of the expenses (attorney’s travel expenses, hourly wages, etc.) incurred during the litigation period that lasted over a year. At the same time, they threatened (!) that they would soon charge an itemized bill. However, when I first paid the down payment, I was not given any explanation about these additional costs, and my lawyer told me several times that the $3,500 would be refunded because it was money that would be used in the event of a lawsuit. The sudden change in words was completely absurd. If I had known I would be hit in the back like this, I would have gone to court instead of wasting money;;ㅠ
So, I submitted a dispute to Chase where I paid and received a refund, but today I received a call from the Chase claim team. The lawyer’s office responded with a whopping 14 pages, claiming that they provided fair service for the amount.
First of all, I am thinking about filing a claim with the bar association in the state I live in, but I would like to ask your opinion if there is another good way.
thank you!
