Lawyer Told Me to Let $8,000 Go and Quit Causing Drama

With some experience with attorney's and law suits, the outcome is the atty. got 40% of the money, then the expenses came out of client's portion. Though $8000 sounds like a lot, unless there could be compensation for damages, you won't get the 8K back, it would be much less.
The attorney probably gave you good advice, hard to keep secrets in small town and if you are worried about reputations, retaliation, in the long run, might be better to chalk it up to very expensive lesson.
Some lawsuits can drag on for years and it is very draining emotionally and financially. There is always a cost no matter what.

I always ask myself if it would cost close to that amount, drag on for years, and cause me a headache would the vindication be worth it??

Sounds like even though "they" done you wrong ( how exactly?) the attorney is advising that "they" could threaten you and cause a hassle??

Honestly what this sounds like is you went to a friend who happens to be an attorney and instead of sitting down in her office you were chatting it up at starbucks. other wise I think she would have charged you the office call. Since this attorney isn't out to make money off of you I would tend to trust them.

Interesting first question.

Why didn't you read the contract? Sounds like they have you in a contract and you want to claim fraud. Not as easy to prove as you would like to believe.

WHAT?

I'm sorry - I have NO idea what you are talking about.

Welcome to mamapedia...no explain what is going on. You signed a contract, they defaulted, you took them to court and the judge said "live and learn"?

You rented your home out? I'm sorry...I just don't know what to make of your post.

"Something so petty"? "A contract"? "Vultures"? "Hurt his security clearance"? "Fighting and drama"? "Vandalized"? "Retaliation"?

Sounds interesting. Wish I knew more of the story. As it is, I'm just totally lost.

This isn't much more than Esperanto to me. I have NO idea what you are talking about.

Sometimes, lawyers give us excellent reality checks. We walked away from pursuing a larger sum, which would have been rightfully my husband's, because there were too many hoops to jump through, a corporate veil to pierce (companies hiding behind parent corporation) etc. While we were furious at the time, *we never even think about it now*. I am glad I took the lawyer's advice or it might have stretched out for months and years. The loss of the money was better than having to live with this consuming our thoughts for so long.

Sometimes, making lemonade out of those lemons is a good option, and you do have to sweeten it yourself. If you feel the lawyer has reasonable (read: reasonable for your region and long-term residence there in this little town) grounds, sometimes it's better to live and learn and not make the same mistake. Next time, take it to the lawyer BEFORE signing.

I feel as if I am walking into a room and hearing only the middle of a discussion.

From what you write, it sounds to me as if you know this lawyer. Has she been trustworthy in the past? What she told you was evidently not what you wanted to hear. But do you really have reason to think her advice is not good advice? If you get a second opinion, will it be to be sure of what is wise, or to hear what you want to hear? Are you willing to put up more money to hear, perhaps, the first lawyer's opinion justified?

Those are just walking-in-on-the-middle-of-a-discussion questions - just food for thought. I've known folks who have pursued a dispute and pursued it and pursued it until they've ended up spending much more money than the whole deal was worth... and getting nowhere.

Welcome! That being said, I have no idea what you are talking about and what your question is. A little background info would be helpful.

$8,000 to me is not "petty". So, again, not sure how to answer your question.

As usual, we get 1/4 of the information because the OP doesn't want to be judged for their involvement in the story.

I don't know if it's good advice because I don't know what you did, what they did, or ANYTHING about the reason you've hired an attorney.

I don't know if you should make and appointment with another attorney. Because I don't know what the problem is.

You can't expect a good answer if you're not willing to give complete information. What are you afraid of? You can't see us, we don't know your name, and if we judge you it won't matter because we're all strangers. How about giving up some actual details?

You have to decide what it's worth to you. I don't like that your lawyer is pushing that taking a personal stand would look bad to others and not be received well. Maybe that is likely, but it's not a legal reason to back down from something that's important to you. So what if the other party does not enjoy it? This isn't a slumber party; it's not supposed to be fun. Get a second opinion.

I would need more detail, but if a lawyer told you it wasn't worth it, than generally it's not worth it.

If you think that these people cheated you and would cheat others, I might consider it. As long as you don't expect to actually get any money back out of it.

Since she didn't charge you then yes, get a second opinion. But don't be quick to dismiss her advice. She's probably seen things like this lots of times and might know what she is talking about.

Sometimes walking away is the way to go. In high school I was rear-ended. The person left the scene, but I got the license plate number. I called the police to start the police report. The cop called my mom the next day and said they ran the tags and they know who owns the vehicle. He said they did not live in a good part of town and would not be people we would associate with. If we moved forward, the person would have our contact information (names, address, etc). He advised that if it were him, he would just pay for the repairs and let it go--rather than get involved with the other party. A couple thousand dollars was not worth the potential aggravation. We trusted the cop (his kids went to school with us and his family went to our church). We took his advice. The repairs were about $1500.

Give us the dirt. What happened that you want to sue somebody for? It will be easier to answer your question with the full range of gossip available to us.

Let it go.
It sounds like it's not worth it.
When a lawyer tells you to drop it, they usually know you won't get the money. That you won't win.

I don't know the specifics of your case, and I am not a lawyer, but yes, I would get a second opinion. It may be that if you drew up your own contract, it was written in a way that's not legally binding or something about the case would make it unlikely that you'd collect. If that's the case, then you should let it go. However, I dont believe that just because you have more money than the other person, if they violated a contract, is a reason to let it go. If you live in an area where someone would vandalize your home because you sued someone for breach of contract, then I would suggest it's time to put your house on the market and relocated, because that's just ridiculous.

I would do what I felt is the right thing for me and my family. Your attorney seems more concerned with the people you are filing a suit against. Her advice didn't have a touch of the law about it but about her moral opinions of your finances and the capacity of the other parties involved slant toward violence.

It would be very nice if we all could get along but there are times when lawyers must get involved and the courts etc.That is what they are there for when reasonable parties can't come to a resolution over a matter together.

Get a second opinion from another attorney who doesn't have personal ties with any of the parties and move forward in the direction that best suits the needs of your faimly. Once you start you must be prepared for the long haul which may be very long. Are you prepared to run the race to the finish line even if it's your first marathon and you haven't trained?

It is up to you. This lawyer is under no obligation to take your case, but that does not mean you can not find another lawyer if you feel you have a good case and want to move forward.

I think it depends on what the money was for. Can you give us any details about the contract without giving away too many specifics? What was the other couple's understanding when the contract was signed? Why didn't you have your lawyer review it in advance?

Why does your lawyer consider it petty? Is $8000 truly a very small amount in terms of your overall finances? Was the money lost over a petty situation? I don't consider $8000 to be a small sum, but I could see her advising you to write it off if you have a lot of money.

What security clearance are you talking about?

I'm sorry, but your question is incredibly vague and confusing. You're not going to get good answers unless you provide more info.

Probably ask a different attorney. I don't understand your question very well but since Cleveland is such a small town and pretty far from "civilization" I'd say this attorney probably has represented whomever you're considering filing suit against.

I am from OKC and to me Stillwater is the boonies so small towns like Perkins, Pawnee, Cleveland, Guthrie, Edmond and more are far far far from civilization...

The thing with small towns is that everyone knows each other. I used Jamie Murrey when I was at OSU and had a suit matter. He worked really hard for me and I won.

I'd at least call him and ask him about looking at the paperwork to see what he thought. Also Stillwater isn't far from Cleveland. I used to drive a bus to Cleveland from a church to pick up scouts at camp. Nice little town there....lol. I have friends in Jennings and Yale too. Sort of fun to find someone so close to home on here...

http://www.jvmlaw.com/

If a lawyer is so sure the case is bad that they aren't willing to take your money, you should take that seriously.
Just like doctors, you can always get a second opinion. If a second lawyer won't take your money, you should really re-evaluate your commitment to taking it to court. If you want to go to court bad enough, eventually you will find a lawyer to take the case, for enough money. Think about how much the time energy, and stress of a legal battle will cost you, not just in dollars but as a chunk out of your life. Is letting it go, putting it behind you, and moving on with your life worth $8000? Will it be worth it to you if you outlay a whole lot of time and money on your case and then lose? Will the fact that you "fought the good fight" be enough for you? It may well be, but you should look at the big picture even without the "retaliation" factor.
Have you tried or considered trying mediation?

This question is incoherent. But it sounds to me like the lawyer is doing you a favor, even if it did offend you. It is generally true that only the lawyers win.

First of all, who is "she"? The lawyer?

Second, just because the other party spent the $8000 is not a good reason to drop a case. If they are ordered to reimburse you $8000 and they don't have the money, that is their problem, not yours. They will need to pony up the money one way or another.

More than that I can't advise you because your post is mostly incoherent.

Impossible to say, since you're not providing any information about what happened to begin with. But when you file suit, your lawyer makes money either way. So a lawyer who advises you NOT to sue is demonstrating integrity, and her opinion probably deserves respect.

To me, it would depend on how the situation came to be. If the other couple intentionally screwed you, knew what they were doing and did it anyway, I would be with hubby. But only you know the dynamics in your little town and how likely, or not, retaliation would be.

You probably do not need a lawyer; in CA you could take this to small claims court.

Without knowing what happened, how can anybody answer?

I can't figure out what happened. What is this about? If you want good answers, you need to give more detail in your question.

If a lawyer says they do not want your money, that means something.

Sounds like you have a legal reason to sue and win, yet the morality of the situation does not sit well with the lawyer.

Is the other party performing a service for you and now you decided not and noticed a legal loop hole to get out? Did they already perform the service and you are not satisfied?

I agree with BK. You didn't say what happened. We need details - specific details from the beginning to the end. I think you should repost this, explaining everything. Then, you will get much better advice. Just do another post!

Purple, because four reverse donkey balls negates positrons.

All I got out of this is that your husband doesn't want to "get screwed over" which essentially means "teach someone a lesson" or "putting someone in their place." And since that's a matter of perception, especially in a contract situation, burden of proof of... whatever it is you want to sue over... will be on you.

I also got that your own lawyer thinks that whatever it is you're planning on doing is morally questionable and she wants nothing to do with it AND is so opposed that she won't even take your money for the little bit of advice that she DID give you. You could get a second opinion, but you could end up with one that doesn't have a conscience and encourages you to do the wrong and immoral thing. Is that what you want?

$8,000 is a lot to let go and not petty! I paid $6,700 to a lawyer after an accident and we never went to court. I had to sue my own insurance company even though they HAD to pay. It took 2 years and stressed me out.

If you agree with her that your lawsuit is 'petty', I'd drop it.
On the other hand: Even though legally we could get out of it, we should eat the loss and learn. This seems to imply you could get out of your contract without a lawsuit, so that bit is confusion. I don't know the moral character of the other party, but if they're shady people I would worry about them vandalizing my property. And if this makes you look bad to the entire community, $8000 is definitely not worth all that trouble.
If you get a second opinion, make sure you bring all these issues up with the new attorney.
Good luck.