Gary Browns Sewer & Drain

Mr***'s Statement:Mr*** states that he showed up for court on August for the a.mhearing and waited there until p.m. I went to the court and waited there until docket call to see if we would be assigned another judge, or whether the parties could discuss a potential settlement of their divorce claims. It is common for parties and their attorneys to discuss informal settlement at the courthouse in the hallway. A motion for continuance was filed by the opposing party, but it still has to be heard by the court. It is not an automatic continuance of the case. I at least expected to be heard on that motion and our request to proceed. In sum, I had to appear at court because I was not excused by the judge, even though it appeared he may be in trial. This is common I emailed Mr*** at 6:a.mon that morning (not 11:a.mas purported in Mr***’ attached email) to inform him that my plan was to go to court to ensure that the judge was indeed in trial and would not be able to hear our case. My email is attached. I told Mr*** in that email that since we were not going to have a hearing, we should instead try to negotiate a resolution to his case. This was in the course and scope of my representation agreement with Mr***. It is also a common practice for family law attorneys Mr***’ claims appear to be that he was charged $1,for legal services performed on August 16, specific to a court hearing that never occurred. (We do not charge a no-show fee.) That is not supported in our billing statement. All that was billed was a one-hour charge ($300) for me to appear at court, as required, to answer a docket call and to potentially argue against the opposing party’s motion for continuance. Further, it now appears that Mr*** is mostly upset that I attempted to use his time in Texas to negotiate a resolution of his case, when he was “not interested in an out of court meeting.” Although this is always required by the Court and a necessary part of my representation, I did not charge Mr*** for my time in driving to the opposing counsel office and sitting there for over hours while I attempted to reach him via email and phone to participate in informal settlement discussions. I simply was trying to make efficient use of Mr***’ time since he drove from Oregon for his case that was properly set on the court docket Mr*** failed to support his claim that we billed him for $in “frivolous expenses.” All work done in his case was necessary for his representation and for the purpose of expediting his divorce

The facts as stated by Mr*** are incorrect. Mr*** told Mr***, before the hearing, that the Judge of that court may still be in a jury trial. However, there would be an opportunity to appear before another judge to resolve the case. They were still set on the
docket, so all parties and attorneys had to appear. Mr*** appeared for the docket call by the judge, but Mr*** failed to appear Since Mr*** failed to show in court, Mr*** arranged to have an informal settlement conference at the opposing attorney’s office, which was near the court. Mr*** emailed and phoned Mr*** that morning to explain the options. He then drove to counsel’s office to wait for Mr***. Mr*** failed to show and did not contact Mr*** about attending the conference We did not charge or bill Mr*** $1,for services that day. Instead, we charged him one hour ($300.00) for Mr***'s time since he had to show at court for docket call regardless, as well as attempting an informal settlement conference. Mr***'s time well exceeded one hour, but he chose a one hour flat rate to keep the client’s costs as low as possible Here is the billing entry from that day: SNW 08/16/hour $to office of opp counsel for settlement discussions, client was no show

Due to attorney-client privilege, we are unable to share details of the case with other parties. However, we have spoken directly with this client and have resolved her complaint to her satisfaction

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: See attachmentsAug Email: Sent during my travel day to Texas; opened and read email late on the night of the 15th upon arrival to the Bell County Court House parking lot. Bell County Docket (online) also clearly shows the Court Continuance as part of the case. NO COURT ON THE 16TH OF AUGAug Email: Email response; clearly NO COURT ON THE 16TH; day turned out to be a bust; left the court house and parking lot on the road back to Oregon by approxpmafternoon of Aug 16. I responded via email morning of AUG to clearly state no interest in an 'out of court' meeting.Carlson Law Firm left a message concerning 'no court on the 16th due to a continuance' late afternoon of the 15th as I drove thru Lubbock, Texas; in addition, a second message left early morning of Aug as I slept in the truck prior to the court house openingIf requested, messages are to be recorded from phone to recorder as needed. Also, Court Docket shows no court on Aug 16, due to continuance.There are actually around $1,in frivolous expenses charged against my retainer after this event designed to bring my retainer down to a zero balance and close out representation.
Regards,
*** ***