Lawyer thread

Discussion in 'The Mainboard' started by Jax Teller, Apr 8, 2015.

  1. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
    Staff Donor
    Atlanta BravesDenver BroncosChicago BlackhawksBirmingham LegionMississippi Rebels

    I’ve got a jury trial against a pro se plaintiff set on Monday. She’s pro se because her lawyer fired her and withdrew when she wouldn’t accept a very generous offer. He didn’t assert an attorney’s lien. She failed to file a witness and exhibit list, so I moved to preclude her from offering and witnesses or exhibits. Judge grants it, and tells her to accept any offer I made. I left the very generous offer on the table. She said she wanted to take her chances. The judge explained to her, again, that she cannot prove her case and that he “would expect” me to file a motion to dismiss, and that she should take the offer. Smugly, she said “isn’t this a jury trial” in a “checkmate” tone. Instead of getting more money than she’s ever made in a year, she’s about to have her case dismissed.
     
  2. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    sounds like she is getting what she deserves
     
    RJF-GUMP likes this.
  3. El Tiburon

    El Tiburon Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Florida Gators

    Fast forward to Monday and wes tegg ’s firm will put up an announcement, “Attorney Wes Tegg obtains a directed verdict in a multi-million dollar claim due to his aggressive motion practice and extensive trial experience!”
     
    #7553 El Tiburon, May 28, 2019
    Last edited: May 28, 2019
  4. Sammy Meatballs

    Sammy Meatballs DeBoer on the Floor
    Donor
    Alabama Crimson TideArsenal

    Prepare to respond to a bar grievance from her.

    Withdrew from a clear liability case against macaroni grill where a lady swallowed some broken glass. Good money on the table, but an absolutely crazy client. After I withdrew, defense lawyer gets a MSJ granted, the client’s crazy husband then grieves the defense lawyer.
     
  5. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    ...did he even need to respond? seems like that would just get dismissed immediately.
     
  6. harvey birdman

    harvey birdman Ha ha! Last laugh.
    Donor
    ArsenalFlorida Gators

    Do you ever move to strike boilerplate affirmative defenses?
     
  7. El Tiburon

    El Tiburon Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Florida Gators

    As a person who copies and pastes, uhhh I mean, drafts said defenses, I think it’s pretty much a waste of time on the plaintiff’s side to move to strike them. Unless there’s a unique legal question, nobody really pays much attention to them and then as you prep for trial and narrow the issues the BS defenses fall by the wayside.

    Failing to assert a specific affirmative defense can have a very detrimental effect, which is why the boilerplate ones get trotted out so that you can avoid a claim of waiver. Is there a specific defense that’s bothering you on a case you’re working on now?
     
  8. Bo Pelinis

    Donor TMB OG
    Nebraska CornhuskersKansas City RoyalsKansas City ChiefsBig 8 Conference

    You cannot fix stupid.
     
    wes tegg likes this.
  9. harvey birdman

    harvey birdman Ha ha! Last laugh.
    Donor
    ArsenalFlorida Gators

    Unclean hands, waiver, and estoppel, and right to a set-off. This is a simple breach of contract case with a pro-se defendant.
     
  10. (Z)

    (Z) Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Alabama Crimson TideBoston Red Sox

    Last premises liability case I tried, Defense failed to plead open and obvious. Couldn't believe it.
     
  11. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
    Staff Donor
    Atlanta BravesDenver BroncosChicago BlackhawksBirmingham LegionMississippi Rebels

    I just hope he grants the motion. I can’t imagine anything worse than trying a jury trial against this loon. She’ll mistry it in five minutes.
     
    RJF-GUMP likes this.
  12. SmoochieWallace

    SmoochieWallace Ipse dixit
    Donor
    Florida GatorsTampa Bay RaysTampa Bay BuccaneersTampa Bay LightningArsenal

    Only if I’m trying to run up costs. Otherwise, save it for the MSJ.
     
    Nelson, harvey birdman and wes tegg like this.
  13. RJF-GUMP

    RJF-GUMP Daubert Qualified in Cooler Thermodynamics
    Donor TMB OG

    I have a mediation on June 21 where I expect my client to turn down a good offer. We've been round and round on her case. If she doesn't accept it I might have to fire her and withdraw as well. People like that drive me absolutely nuts. It's by far the worst part of plaintiff practice.
     
  14. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    Part of being a good mediator is setting plaintiff expectations

    If the mediator you’re using on that date is just mediocre come up with an excuse to cancel and find someone good

    I’m mediating this morning with a mediator who frankly sucks but she is always available. The good ones in Houston are all booked 2 months out
     
  15. RJF-GUMP

    RJF-GUMP Daubert Qualified in Cooler Thermodynamics
    Donor TMB OG

    The mediator we are using is considered the best in the state and is booked 2 months out. Wouldn't put it past my client to refuse to listen to him and me and blow up the deal.
     
    Gallant Knight likes this.
  16. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    Well I guess I am adding State Farm to the list of insurance companies to never mediate with
     
  17. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    “You need to get it out of your head that the medicals are X—we have an expert that says they should be Y”

    Cool bro we have 150 cases in litigation and 140 have dickhead doctors making 10k from insurance companies
     
  18. Nelson

    Nelson Can somebody please get Ja Rhule on the phone
    Donor
    Nebraska CornhuskersDenver NuggetsDenver BroncosColorado AvalanceBorussia DortmundManchester UnitedColorado State Rams

    wes tegg Posner fell on the sword out of respect for pro se litigants and you should too
     
    ARCO, wes tegg and Oranjello like this.
  19. Bricktop the white

    Bricktop the white Well-Known Member


    What insurance company isn't going to downplay bills at mediation?
     
    wes tegg and Nelson like this.
  20. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
    Staff Donor
    Atlanta BravesDenver BroncosChicago BlackhawksBirmingham LegionMississippi Rebels

    To be fair, they’ve got hundreds of thousands of cases in litigation where dickhead doctors have inflated their bills to make money from Plaintiffs’ lawyers. You’re both sides of the same coin. No reason to take it personally.
     
    bertwing, SmoochieWallace and pez like this.
  21. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    didn't take it personally--just not sure why they kept harping on that over and over and over

    i get it--you hired an expert.

    sorry i didn't do a good job of explaining that. they said it in their opening and i mean thats fine. literally every time the mediator came into our room she made a big deal about how they hired an expert and that he would say the bills should be 10k
     
  22. Bricktop the white

    Bricktop the white Well-Known Member


    They're trying to get your client to be realistic/doubt themselves, not you.
     
  23. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    mediator is sending a proposal that we are probably going to reject

    offering 35k on 40k in meds on a commercial truck

    think state farm as just decided to make us try these cases with big policies
     
  24. bertwing

    bertwing check out the nametag grandma
    Staff Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksNew Orleans SaintsTiger WoodsBarAndGrill

    How’d you do on that coke s/f you discussed in here Gallant Knight or did you not have your mediation on it yet?
     
  25. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    Won’t be until late summer
     
    bertwing likes this.
  26. RJF-GUMP

    RJF-GUMP Daubert Qualified in Cooler Thermodynamics
    Donor TMB OG

    Generally if I’m not getting over 2x meds on a MVA I’m filing suit. They are settling for between 2-2.5x med. Rarely getting 3x meds. Exceptions for all of this of course.
     
  27. RJF-GUMP

    RJF-GUMP Daubert Qualified in Cooler Thermodynamics
    Donor TMB OG

    Defense verdict in Pascagoula last week on birth trauma case where Plaintiff spent $150,000 on 7 experts. Brutal.
     
  28. El Tiburon

    El Tiburon Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Florida Gators

    I wonder if there were any pretrial settlements with some defendants prior to trial. Sometimes it's not as brutal as it sounds because the Plaintiffs took a shot on a weaker case against a non-settling defendant after having been paid.

    That said, several years ago my partner tried a brain damaged baby case where the Plaintiffs refused to accept policy limits because of alleged bad faith. After a seven week trial with over $500K in costs, the plaintiffs got zipped.
     
    Sammy Meatballs and wes tegg like this.
  29. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    I don’t know anyone in Houston getting 2x meds
     
  30. Sammy Meatballs

    Sammy Meatballs DeBoer on the Floor
    Donor
    Alabama Crimson TideArsenal

    that's a tough one to report back to your partners when you're writing off costs and closing cases.
     
    wes tegg and El Tiburon like this.
  31. Sammy Meatballs

    Sammy Meatballs DeBoer on the Floor
    Donor
    Alabama Crimson TideArsenal

    I forgot how irritating it is applying for the bar, even just for admission on motion. The amount of things they want clarification on is absurd, despite me already being admitted in two other states.
     
    wes tegg and Gallant Knight like this.
  32. El Tiburon

    El Tiburon Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Florida Gators

    That case actually wound up breaking the plaintiff’s firm apart. The worst part was that the company made a substantial offer during deliberations (like 10 times the policy limits) and the plaintiff’s attorney told them to fuck off because he was so convinced he was going to ring the bell. Oh, that bell was rung alright.
     
  33. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
    Staff Donor
    Atlanta BravesDenver BroncosChicago BlackhawksBirmingham LegionMississippi Rebels

    “Meds” are so subjective. When you’re talking about charges under an LOP, they’re just made up numbers.
     
    Gallant Knight likes this.
  34. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    I’m certainly getting 3x why I actually have to pay the docs
     
    wes tegg likes this.
  35. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    So what happened
     
  36. RJF-GUMP

    RJF-GUMP Daubert Qualified in Cooler Thermodynamics
    Donor TMB OG

    I don’t use lop’s that much. usually hospital, primary care, neuro/ortho charges. and our local ortho clinic doesn’t like to get engaged with plaintiff lawyers or in litigation so the meds are usually legit
     
  37. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    Yikes I wonder how much that has cost you
     
  38. 941Gator

    941Gator TMB's resident beach bum
    Staff Donor
    Florida Gators

    continued. plaintiff missed court after being arrested for stealing from walmart.
     
    CoastalOrange and Gallant Knight like this.
  39. 941Gator

    941Gator TMB's resident beach bum
    Staff Donor
    Florida Gators

    random firm......piss poor effort on this group photo imo. must have been a pre-set camera.

    [​IMG]
     
    SmoochieWallace likes this.
  40. harvey birdman

    harvey birdman Ha ha! Last laugh.
    Donor
    ArsenalFlorida Gators

    Pretty sure it's photshopped.

    [​IMG]
     
    Nelson, wes tegg and SmoochieWallace like this.
  41. 941Gator

    941Gator TMB's resident beach bum
    Staff Donor
    Florida Gators

    think you're right. adding and deleting employees over time.
     
  42. Nug

    Nug MexicanNug
    Donor
    Alabama Crimson TideSeattle MarinersAtlanta BravesNew Orleans Saints

    [​IMG]
     
  43. MORBO!

    MORBO! Hello, Tiny Man. I WILL DESTROY YOU!!!!
    Donor
    New York GiantsNew York YankeesAtlanta UnitedUCF Knights

    One of the hardest things is when you know a case is worth more than what they're offering, but they aren't going to put it on the table, and it doesn't make sense for my client to wait them out. I always feel like such an idiot when I know I could get more money if my client had the time to wait things out, but I guess I have to do what's in their best interest and shit...

    Feels like I'm letting the insurer win.
     
    Lipp and RJF-GUMP like this.
  44. RJF-GUMP

    RJF-GUMP Daubert Qualified in Cooler Thermodynamics
    Donor TMB OG

    Even worse in a car wreck case where they are offering less than the case is worth but litigating the case would cost your client even more out of the bottom line so you take less than the case is worth.
     
  45. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    judge in el paso would not let me call in for a status conference where all we are going to say is we've exchanged discovery and will be scheduling depos this summer. unreal. had to find a guy and pay him $500 to cover it for me.
     
  46. BUstang

    BUstang Lawyer

    I've heard from a fair number of lawyers that El Paso is the twilight zone when it comes to court practices like that, etc.
     
    buy_dont_lease likes this.
  47. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    someone from the TTLA listserv emailed me and basically said that almost every court in El Paso will make you appear in person to get a trial date. The person covering for me said that she is going to have to enter in an appearance in the case because the judge is going to ask her who she is if her name isn't on the pleading.

    it really makes me appreciate the judges in houston every time i venture outside of here.
     
    buy_dont_lease likes this.
  48. dome foam

    dome foam ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
    Donor
    Texas LonghornsHouston AstrosHouston RocketsHouston Texans

    i can confirm this. i was sanctioned because of it.
     
  49. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    Sanctioned?! Wow
     
  50. dome foam

    dome foam ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
    Donor
    Texas LonghornsHouston AstrosHouston RocketsHouston Texans

    this was years ago now. i think it was in one of the county courts? don't even remember.
    there was a pretrial hearing. we called in, but the coordinator wouldn't put us through to the Judge. the Judge sanctioned us $500.00 for not appearing, and told us to fly there the next week for another pretrial or hire a local el paso attorney. yep, cost another $500.00. fuck me, that was a bad memory.
     
    Nelson likes this.