Legal Question in Legal Malpractice in Michigan
QDRO modified nine years after divorce
Divorce for nine years, QDRO approved by Ford Motor Company
eight years ago. Motion to modify QDRO heard 2/20/04--
changed my benefit from 19.1 years to 11.5 years, all do
to survivorship benefit as well as exact dates not being spelled out in divorce judgement and testimony not being
addressed at the the time of divorce. My pension was cashed in during marriage at age thirty nine I had no pension. Two different attorneys -- no testimony taken--
no documents presented to the Judge. Original Attorney's
response was that survivorship did not have to be spelled
out in judgment it was implied. Second attorney said that
1st attorney made mistake and didn't even try to present
a defense. Have less than a week to appeal--three attorneys have advised I have very little chance at appeal.
Two asked believe I may have legal malpractice case.
Never given any information on pension amount or options
prior to divorce. QDRO prepared by ex-husband's attorney.
Divorce judgment prepared by my attorney. Do not know
amount of loss or injury at this point in time. Would like
to know if an attorney would work on percentage.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: QDRO modified nine years after divorce
This sounds like a mess, so I seriously doubt you'll find someone to take it on a contingency. 1) because it's an appeal and that's not the sort of work most people do on contingency and 2) because you are asking the attorney to review the professinal decisions of two other counsel, and that's a hard one.
You may well have a malpractice case built in, but your essential case is whether the judgment should be allowed to stand given the facts.
Perhaps you can find someone to do the appellate work, and if successful take on the rest of the representation on contingency provided the recovery would cover their hourly rate plus risk.
Re: QDRO modified nine years after divorce
You may very well have a legal malpractice case. The very big difficulty with your situation is the statute of limitations. You have two years to bring suit from the date that the lawyer last represented you or 6 months from the date that you should have discovered the malpractice. The 6 month rule is very strictly construed. If it is more than 2 years from the date the lawyer last represented you, then you have to fall back on the 6 month rule. If you knew that your pension was adversely effected more than 6 months ago, it is too late. It sounds like a very good legal malpractice case and I would be interested in representing you on a contingency, if the statute of limitations is not blown. Because I am one of the few lawyers who specialize in both legal malpractice and domestic relations, I would definitely be up to handling the case. Feel free to contact me at 248-353-9400. William S. Stern
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