Pradeep (Owner) 14 March 2013

Deficiency in service by an advocate

Dear Sir,

I need some inputs from this forum. I will try to narrate my story and seek some advice through this forum.

1. I had met with an accident in dec 2004. When i was hospitalized an advocate approached me and asked me to file for compensation from the insurance company.

2. He also said that I would not be paying any fees and he would deduct 15 % of the disbursed awarded amount as his fee at the end of the case.

3. He fought our case but never gave us any details of the case. Finally after four years the lower court gave us the judgement and awarded 10 Lakhs rupees.

4. The insurance company challenged the case in the high court.

5. Our lawyer requested for interim amount to be released and could release 60 % of the awarded amount int our interest and even the insurance company agreed to it.

6. 5 lakhs was in cheque and 1 lakh was in the form of FD.

7. On the day of cheque issue, our lawyer asked me to come and took my signatures on some documents and took ID proof and address proof with my signatures on it and quoted that it was for court formalities.

8. After the cheque was issues, he snatched the cheque from my hand outside the registrars cabin and asked me to come to office next day.

9. When I went to his office next day, he started demanding 30 % of the entire amount (10 Lakhs + interest) and gave us only 92,000.

10. I requested him to pay the remaining amount couple of times but he started abusing me and threatened to flip the case in the high court.

11. I have recorded all our conversation in which he has told me that he has discounted the cheque that was issued to me.

12. I have filed a complaint in the consumer forum but he has mentioned in his version that Advocates do not come under the purview of consumer act and the relationship between a client and a lawyer is not a consumer relationship.

13. Now I am scared to approach lawyers with a fear that they might know him and also some known lawyers are also not willing to fight for me.

14. I have also filed a complaint in the State BAR Council.

Please provide me inputs so that I can call you and get some more details as see that there is ambiguity in terms of advocates under consumer act.

Regards,

Pradeep

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5 Replies

Manish Udar (www.Mehnat.IN) 14 March 2013

Lawyers are not allowed to charge a percentage of awarded damages as fees. This is in the bar council rules.

www.mehnat.in

Pradeep (Owner) 14 March 2013

Yes. I also came to know about this recently. That is the reason, in the version, the advocate has cleverly mentioned that he has only taken the professional fee as prescribd by the tribunal.

I need to file an affidavid next week. I need advice on how to defend since he has taken all the money from me and justified that he charges 30 % on the awarded money but to the consumer forum and BAR council he mentions that he has taken the fee as prescribed by the tribunal.

gopal (Faculty) 14 March 2013

Dear experts

Please advice him to over come his issues, among the learned lawyers very few are there ,only having the intension to make money by any way. these type of lawyers are the Black mark of the learned lawyers community.There are two professions are considered equal to god, one is doctor profession and another is lawyer profession. so very few of this type of lawyers action will affect the hole image of the lawyers.

Hence respected experts pls give apt inputs to him so that he can over come his issue

Pradeep (Owner) 14 March 2013

Thanks. I have filed a complaint in the honorable BAR council of Karnataka as well as Honorable Consumer forum. Even i have the conversations with the advocate recorded wherin he tells that he has discounted the cheque with the signatures I had put on few documents. He had earlier got my signatures on the discount forms stating that its required for court formalities.

I strongly feel that this act by him comes under the deficiency in service and hence I am fully entitled to put my griviences in from of Honorable Consumer court.