lawyer says i owe him money due to his mistake.

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JustinH

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3 years ago I hired a lawyer in NY to perform a property closing for a house I had sold up there.

I am a TX resident. Paid him X amount up front to close the house, signed over partial power of attorney which allowed him to do so.

It is common place, because you need a lawyer at a home sale in NY.

The transaction closed, a month later I had a check for the proceeds of the house, and I thought all was done.

Anyways today he sends me a letter in the mail saying I owe him $250 for funds he send to a title company but did not bill me for.

He provided a copy of the invoice from the title company bill to him in regards to my transaction. From the year 2014!

I have the HUD-1 statement in my office, I haven't looked at it yet.

It is possible I do owe the money, but here are my questions.

Can he come after me for $250?

Will he come after me for $250, especially out of state?

Is this unusual to be billed for an error he made, 3 years ago.

Thanks.
 
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Lawyers can pretty well do whatever they want...

We had a "no win no fee" case going that lost and cost us $5k...in disbursements and advice that they sought elsewhere.
 
Originally Posted By: JustinH
3 years ago I hired a lawyer in NY to perform a property closing for a house I had sold up there.

I am a TX resident. Paid him X amount up front to close the house, signed over partial power of attorney which allowed him to do so.

It is common place, because you need a lawyer at a home sale in NY.

The transaction closed, a month later I had a check for the proceeds of the house, and I thought all was done.

Anyways today he sends me a letter in the mail saying I owe him $250 for funds he send to a title company but did not bill me for.

He provided a copy of the invoice from the title company bill to him in regards to my transaction. From the year 2014!

I have the HUD-1 statement in my office, I haven't looked at it yet.

It is possible I do owe the money, but here are my questions.

Can he come after me for $250?

Will he come after me for $250, especially out of state?

Is this unusual to be billed for an error he made, 3 years ago.

Thanks.


So basically he is trying to charge you for something he forgot to bill you for 3 years ago? He made the error.
 
If it was on the HUD-1 and you did not pay it, I think he has 7 years to collect the debt. I Don't know if he would sue you or send to collections over $250, but I think he could.
 
lol. I wouldn't do anything, but that's me. I would think $250 would be a small enough amount to a lawyer that he wouldn't bother trying to collect it.
 
Originally Posted By: Bbonez
If it was on the HUD-1 and you did not pay it, I think he has 7 years to collect the debt. I Don't know if he would sue you or send to collections over $250, but I think he could.


Length of time he may collect is governed by law; 7 years seems long (but may be correct). A check of the NY law is in order.... if he's not entitled to that money by law, he's out of luck legally....but in that case if you go ahead and just pay it, well....he gotcha.
 
I would pay it. No point in playing silly beggars with lawyers who might put a blemish on your credit score. If it annoys you enough you could inform him payment comes with a letter to the Bar Association, or whatever relevant authority, regarding your displeasure. That might change his mind. If so get it in writing or an email from his domain.
 
Originally Posted By: ndfergy
I would pay it. No point in playing silly beggars with lawyers who might put a blemish on your credit score. If it annoys you enough you could inform him payment comes with a letter to the Bar Association, or whatever relevant authority, regarding your displeasure. That might change his mind. If so get it in writing or an email from his domain.


Absolutely the correct way to deal with it. The Bar will have rules regarding what lawyers can and cannot bill for. A letter will follow him everywhere, and could affect his future career, so it's not a trivial move.

If it's deemed reasonable, then paying it is your best course. And remember, he might be a Judge someday.
 
I think a standard phrase might apply here.

Pay your bills, deadbeat.


Long answer is that if you owe someone money, don't worry about whether they're allowed to collect it. The right thing to do is to pay it.
 
Originally Posted By: Johnny2Bad
Originally Posted By: ndfergy
I would pay it. No point in playing silly beggars with lawyers who might put a blemish on your credit score. If it annoys you enough you could inform him payment comes with a letter to the Bar Association, or whatever relevant authority, regarding your displeasure. That might change his mind. If so get it in writing or an email from his domain.

Absolutely the correct way to deal with it. The Bar will have rules regarding what lawyers can and cannot bill for. A letter will follow him everywhere, and could affect his future career, so it's not a trivial move.

If it's deemed reasonable, then paying it is your best course. And remember, he might be a Judge someday.

+1 Yep. Best way by far.
 
If it were me, I'd tell him it's his mistake and he gets to pay the $250. If he threatens legal action I'd say, "You pay the $250 since it's your mistake or I'll file a complaint with the BAR Association against you for negligent misrepresentation..."

Ed
 
Originally Posted By: JustinH

Anyways today he sends me a letter in the mail saying I owe him $250


I have one simple question. Did he send it by certified mail? Since he's a lawyer, I'm assuming that he did, but...
 
To answer a couple questions, nope not certified mail. Just regular mail.

Second, I was the seller.

The invoice attached is from a Title Company, billed to him with reference to my transaction, and my name.

$250 for Continuation Search.

I'm not a deadbeat, I paid him handsomely for his services up front, and he did a poor job, could not close the house on time, by delaying it, now makes an error and wants me to cover it three years later.
 
Maybe if you contact him and mention these things...(his mistake, 3 years later, a letter to the Bar Assoc., why is the seller being billed for a service usually paid by the buyer etc....) you will get him to COMPROMISE and take half...$125.
 
I think the question is before the facts.

Bottom line is, is it on your closing statement?
Let us know. If it is not on the closing statement, maybe a corrected one needs to be produced by him before you can pay it?

If it is on the statement you paid it.
If not is there anything wrong with paying him the $250 if you know it was a charge you should have paid ?
But it would be legit to ask for some sort of corrected HUD statement.

Whether or not he can make you pay, etc, etc, why not do the right thing once you have the facts?
Whether or not you liked his performance is irrelevant, the bottom line is, is the charge legitimate or not?
If it is, pay it.
 
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