Philippine lawyers and the IBP

[JonPalawan]

I'm being sued by a van driver whose van I damaged. He saw white skin and dollar signs flashed in front of his eyes. He got two estimates, P21,000 to repair the minor damage. He then got another estimate for P63,000, replacing the door and fender. It really is minor damage, and replacing the panels is not warranted. He also demanded P5,000 per day for lost income. I agreed to pay the first estimate and the P5,000 per day lost income, but that latter amount only if he could show me his BIR statements showing that he's actually making that much money. He couldn't produce any such statements. He took me to court, demanding the amount on the second estimate. After one of the hearings he admitted to my expensive lawyer that the lost income figure is "wrong", and that he's now willing to accept the amount of the first estimate, and no per day lost income. But, this isn't about the case, this is about my lawyer. He's on retainer, and his fee was more than the combined first estimate and the P5,000 per day. I quote IBP Rule 18.04: "A lawyer shall keep the client informed of the status of his case and shall respond within a reasonable time to client's request for information." I ask him questions and he doesn't reply. There is a mechanism for filing complaints, has anyone done it? I've already informed him that I'm fed up with his lack of professionalism, but he continues to violate his Code of Professional Responsibility.

[Jollygoodfellow]

Can't you just get another lawyer and not pay the first.

[JonPalawan]

13 minutes ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

Can't you just get another lawyer and not pay the first.

He was prepaid. I'm stuck with him.

[robert k]

2 hours ago, JonPalawan said:

I'm being sued by a van driver whose van I damaged. He saw white skin and dollar signs flashed in front of his eyes. He got two estimates, P21,000 to repair the minor damage. He then got another estimate for P63,000, replacing the door and fender. It really is minor damage, and replacing the panels is not warranted. He also demanded P5,000 per day for lost income. I agreed to pay the first estimate and the P5,000 per day lost income, but that latter amount only if he could show me his BIR statements showing that he's actually making that much money. He couldn't produce any such statements. He took me to court, demanding the amount on the second estimate. After one of the hearings he admitted to my expensive lawyer that the lost income figure is "wrong", and that he's now willing to accept the amount of the first estimate, and no per day lost income. But, this isn't about the case, this is about my lawyer. He's on retainer, and his fee was more than the combined first estimate and the P5,000 per day. I quote IBP Rule 18.04: "A lawyer shall keep the client informed of the status of his case and shall respond within a reasonable time to client's request for information." I ask him questions and he doesn't reply. There is a mechanism for filing complaints, has anyone done it? I've already informed him that I'm fed up with his lack of professionalism, but he continues to violate his Code of Professional Responsibility.

Go to another lawyer with the driver who is suing you to draw up the 21k settlement and submit it to the court. There is not a lot you can do with a lawyer who won't work for your best interest...unless you want to sue them? And watch them plead incompetence as it isn't really actionable for being a poor lawyer. I know, I have been there, and that was in the US.

[JonPalawan]

4 hours ago, robert k said:

 21k settlement and submit it to the court.

Really, that's what you would do? After offering the plaintiff P33k, he turned it down and sued me causing me to spend P43k defending myself, then he changes his mind and is willing to accept less than I offered two and a half years ago, you'd pay him what he wants? Is that based on your lack of confidence in the Philippine justice system, or based on your sense of fairness? What am I missing? Won't that put a target on all our backs that we're sources of easy money?

[Dave Hounddriver]

19 minutes ago, JonPalawan said:

he changes his mind and is willing to accept less than I offered two and a half years ago, you'd pay him what he wants?

Yep.  He basically said "You Win" so what more do you want?  Pay the man.  Lawyers fees are are the cost of doing business.  I have very little faith in Philippine lawyers but sometimes they are needed, as you needed one.

I mean really, you said YOU hit him, he is now willing to accept a smaller than asked for settlement.  What more do you want from the guy?

[robert k]

2 minutes ago, JonPalawan said:

Really, that's what you would do? After offering the plaintiff P33k, he turned it down and sued me causing me to spend P43k defending myself, then he changes his mind and is willing to accept less than I offered two and a half years ago, you'd pay him what he wants? Is that based on your lack of confidence in the Philippine justice system, or based on your sense of fairness? What am I missing? Won't that put a target on all our backs that we're sources of easy money?

How much is your time worth? My brother got tied up in a suit where he won $5k USD after 4 years. After all the time lost he probably was out 10K in earnings and the lawyer got 1/3 of the $5K.

I said pay him the 21k php he said he would settle for.

Do you really think it will not cost more in the long run to not pay him? Do you think you will ever recover the 43k php you have in legal expenses? Do you think you are being fair to yourself? You admit you did the damage here, do you expect the court to find for you? You can pay as much as you want in continuing.

What has fairness got to do with anything? There was once a judge who asked a plaintiff what he was in court for and the plaintiff said "Justice"! The judge said "Justice?" " Sir" "This is a court of Law!" "Not a court of justice!"

If it's been years and you paid what the actual damages were, I doubt that would put a target on our backs.

If you really want to throw good money after bad and endure the aggravation? Please forget I said anything. I assure you I'm not mad at you, but if I were I don't think I could exact a better revenge on you than you are going to subject yourself to.

[Jollygoodfellow]

10 hours ago, JonPalawan said:

But, this isn't about the case, this is about my lawyer. He's on retainer, and his fee was more than the combined first estimate and the P5,000 per day.

This is what this topic is about 

[robert k]

1 hour ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

This is what this topic is about 

Right! And I say the OP has proven his point and it's time to look at stopping the bleeding.

[JonPalawan]

7 hours ago, robert k said:

What has fairness got to do with anything? There was once a judge who asked a plaintiff what he was in court for and the plaintiff said "Justice"! The judge said "Justice?" " Sir" "This is a court of Law!" "Not a court of justice!".

It's called "Justice Hall"

http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=9.784722&lon=118.731455&z=17&m=b&search=justice

But I understand that it is not uncommon for names to not reflect function.