The law firm of Smith, Hiatt and Diaz has been in trouble before, but since January of this year there have been several warning signs that the firm may be in fatal trouble.
I thought it was strange when, in January, the firm failed to show up for two hearings in a single week—one of which resulted in my client getting judgment in his favor. (Free house? Not quite. But getting close.) After losing both no-show hearings, they asked for a second chance at both—and then missed the second hearing on the judgment. (On the other hearing, they did show up but admitted I was right that the case should be dismissed. So it was.)
And then in late April, the Motions to Withdraw started rolling in—the firm had been fired by Bank of America, and was puling out of hundreds of cases, including several of mine. So they’ve lost a pretty big client.
And now, foreclosure lawyers across the state are reporting that SHD lawyers are skipping hearings at an alarming and increasing rate, resulting in large fee awards against SHD and its clients.
The last time we saw a firm this size implode, it was David Stern, and homeowners had a short window of opportunity to act. Those who did won their cases, some of them forever.
So if you’ve got a case with SHD, make sure you’ve got an action plan to make the most of this window of opportunity before it closes.
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