How can I sue my Bankruptcy Lawyer?

You should contact an attorney in your community that handles legal malpractice about this matter. There are too many unanswered questions to say whether or not you have a good case against this attorney. Hope this perspective helps!

Before suing or contacting a malpractice attorney, I suggest you file a formal complaint with the Virginia State Bar at www.vsb.org/site/regulation/inquiry.

This is not going to be a clear cut malpractice claim for you. Why? This is a he said she said situation. Your statement will be that he promised refunds - not in writing. His statement will be that he would never promise something like that - that is, a specific amount of money. What is the circumstantial evidence? I don't know. If this was my case, Schedule B has a place where you designate any potential tax return (even though the amount is unknown). The Trustee has the right to his pro-rata share, meaning, everything owed up to the date of filing or about 5/6 of this return. This is what you could know in advance. Additionally, your exemptions may allow for a wildcard exemption in your state that would allow you protect that amount. I don't know which exemptions were used (i.e. Virginia, a different state, or federal exemptions). This would also be known in advance. I don't know what your paperwork says and I have not seen the emails. You can talk to another attorney to see if your case would make a good claim. It might. I don't know enough about the situation. I just know if this was my case, I would have a good defense. As a side note, what was your full attorney fee amount? If you filed bankruptcy and had a balance with the attorney, depending on the State and how the laws are applied, you may have a claim for any money paid post petition. I hope you get a positive outcome. Jim Webster www.jpwlegal.com 1845 S. Dobson Rd. Ste 201 Mesa, AZ 85202 (480) 464-4667 [email protected] We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for relief under the Bankruptcy Code.

The sad reality is that these rules change regularly. What he told you initially may have changed along the way. The bankruptcy trustees really do amend the rules, often without much input from the attorney bar. I'd talk to another bankruptcy attorney or trustee and get all the facts on the issue first. You might call the trustee or see if the trustee has a website (many do) that provides these rules before you get too upset. The rules where you live may be different, but to win a malpractice suit, you'd have to show damages due to the malpractice. You would have to show that you would have done something different. Unless the information would have materially changed your behavior, there is nothing to be done except the general complaint to the state bar, as suggested by a previous answer. But even before that, I'd find out if there was a rule change.

You may have a case but I would need a little more details. Please e-mail me below to determine if it is possble. Look foreward to hearing from you. John G. Merna, Esq. The Merna Law Group - Virginia Beach e-mail: [email protected]