Law Practice Management
Ex-Client Sues Law Firm, Says He Never Got $100K Settlement
Posted Aug 18, 2009 2:49 PM CST
By Martha Neil
A former client of a Pennsylvania law firm filed suit yesterday in Bucks County for malpractice, contending that his lawyer, Debbie Carlitz, didn't tell him about a $100,000 settlement in an auto accident case until months after the check was cashed by someone else.
Carlitz, 48, maintained a Feasterville office prior to her suspension from practice last year, after falling behind on the state's continuing legal education requirements, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Meanwhile, a trial is scheduled next week for a former longtime paralegal and office manager for Carlitz. Bonnie Sweeten, 38, was charged in May with identity theft and filing false reports after allegedly falsely claiming in a call to authorities that she and her daughter had been carjacked.
Authorities say Sweeten was never abducted and instead assumed a false identity to travel with her daughter to Disney World.
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Comments
B. McLeod
Aug 18, 2009 3:22 PM CST
That firm must have been a fun place to work. I wonder if they dressed up for Halloween.
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bubba
Aug 19, 2009 10:01 AM CST
I hope, although it is doubtful, that former lawyer Carlitz had per-occurrence malpractice coverage and not claims-made. It looks as if the former client might have a hard time collecting - except, perhaps, through PA’s version of the “wayward attorney’s fund.”
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LS
Aug 19, 2009 10:27 AM CST
If the allegations are proved as fact, this is a classic example of a law firm out of control and dysfunctional at best, and at worst, a train wreck of criminal theft and civil malpractice.
It will be interesting to see how Ms. Carlitz’s lawyer responds to the inevitable question of why her client is not responsible for the actions of her agent.
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