Story for Pinoy Insider

We Paid Attorney Beirne, He Did Nothing, and Our Home was Foreclosed | Luchie Mendoza Allen

A legal malpractice lawsuit filed against bankruptcy Attorney James Beirne alleges that his office was retained to file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy to protect a hard working Filipino family’s home, but Beirne never filed the bankruptcy petition and the Filipinos lost their home, even though Attorney Bierne was paid almost $8,000 to protect it.

“I just want warn other Filipinos about our legal nightmare with Attorney James Beirne’s law office,” Plaintiff Janet Duldulao, originally from Vintar, Illocos Northe, said in explaining that she is still so upset after losing her home, through no fault of her own, in September of 2009.

The lawsuit filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court alleges that Diosdado ‘Gieldy’ Duldulao, originally from Piddig, Illocos Northe, first hired Attorney Beirne’s office in November 2008 for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy and ‘lien stripping,’ a term commonly referred to as eliminating a second mortgage on a residence. The lawsuit alleges that Attorney Beirne’s advertising guaranteed that “WE WILL help you keep your home,” and that “all services are supervised by an attorney.” Beirne even sent a letter stating that “every decision concerning your case and every document related to your case will be personally reviewed by me.” The lawsuit has many allegations of fraudulent advertising against the Bierne law office, which advertises only in Weekend Balita. It has been long rumored that the non-lawyer owners of Weekend Balita also own the law firm.

However, the bankruptcy case languished in Attorney Beirne’s law office, even thought the Duldulaos made frequent inquires, the lawsuit alleges, and were constantly told by Ruby Sexon, a ‘consultant’, that the case was going well. However, in reality, Attorney Beirne’s office had never filed the bankruptcy petition that would have saved the Duldulao family home.

The lawsuit alleges that even after receiving notices about a pending foreclosure, and sending them to Beirne’s office, the law firm still failed to file the bankruptcy petition that they had paid almost $8000 for. The lawsuit alleges that non-lawyer Ruby Sexon continued to assure the Duldulaos that everything was ok.

Then the foreclosure sale notice came.

The lawsuit alleges that the Duldulaos immediately called Ruby Sexon, who refused to even provide an appointment with Attorney Beirne. The Duldulaos went to the office anyway and forced a meeting. “Until that time,” Gieldy Duldulao said, “I never even got to talk to an attorney.”

Attorney Beirne told the Duldulaos “You have to get over this and just move.”

This legal malpractice case is particularly sad, as the Duldulaos’ son’s school was across the street, and his uncle lived next door. They are now forced to live in a rented apartment instead of owing their own home.

Calls to Attorney Beirne to comment on this story went unanswered. The Duldulaos are represented by Attorney Joel Bander, who stated that he did not want to elaborate beyond court filings, as the case is still in the early discovery stages.

Attorney Bander had previously testified in a federal bankruptcy proceeding that the Beirne law office was owned by non-lawyers Luchie Mendoza and her husband, Anthony Allen.

“We just want the Filpino community to be aware that Attorney Beirne’s office was taking advantage of people like us, and instead of helping us, made our lives miserable,” Janet Duldulao said. She concluded “I don’t want other Filipinos go through what we went thru. It might happen to them what happened to us.”

http://www.pinoyinsider.com

tags: pinoyinsider.com, luchie mendoza allen, law offices of james g. beirne, balita media publisher, balita media news, balitang america, balitang amerika, balita media editor rhony laigo, joel bander law, bander law firm, janet duldulao, diosdado duldulao, ruby sexton