Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

I hired an attorney to represent me in a relatively simple, civil matter and I was an out of town client. What a disaster, no communication, after nearly 3 years and one continuance after another...The attorney won a judgment by default...not what I really wanted. I hired another, more experienced, attorney for the collection process. This veteran attorney states, "your previous attorney did not file the correct names/persons in the lawsuit, which makes it virtually unenforceable." My previous attorney filed a lawsuit against the father XXXX Sr. and not the guilty party, the son, XXXX Jr. In addition, he later dropped the entire name of another defendant, and just listed the company of the defendant. What recourse do I have against the 1st attorney? Isn't it Law 101 to make sure you have the correct persons listed on the lawsuit?


Asked on 9/29/09, 1:36 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

If all you say is correct, you MAY have a malpractice case against attorney #1. If attorney #2 can get you a correct judgment, however, your damages are only the additional attorneys' fees you have to pay attorney #2 and possibly interest on the money you would have had in hand had you been able to collect sooner. If the debtor had the money to pay the judgment when the invalid judgment was entered, but doesn't when you finally get a correct judgment, attorney #1 is probably liable to you for the entire amount you could have collected too.

The one problem is if attorney #1 relied on information from you or if he can in any other way pin the error on you.

In any case, you should file a complaint with the State Bar against attorney #1. Three years to get a default judgment is absurd.

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Answered on 9/29/09, 2:29 pm


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