I may be stating the obvious, but it is
always a good idea pay your bills on time.
Whether it is a credit card or a water bill, the failure to pay usually
results in late fees, suspended service, or the oh-so-embarrassing declined
card.
When it comes to lawyers
fees,
one attorney did not take his unpaid bill lightly. Albert Ford II, a Florida-based attorney
specializing in environmental and land use issues, was in a fee dispute with a
former client and was getting a little more than frustrated waiting for his
fees to be paid. Even after the Florida
State Bar determined that his legal fees were not frivolous and excessive (as
his client had claimed) and gave him the green light to sue his client for his
fees, he was still having trouble collecting.
That’s when he decided to take matters
into his own hands. And by hands I mean
that he literally broke into his former client's house to claim his funds. During the break in, he also caused damage to
the property as revenge for the trouble he had been through with his former
friend.
Ford is currently in jail and being
charged with armed burglary (as well as grand theft and criminal mischief)
based on the presence of guns at the house.
He also sent some pretty incriminating text messages to his “former
friend” telling his that he was “waging war on him” and that he was a “weak
puppy.”
Burglary is
essentially the breaking and entering of property of another for the purpose of
committing a crime. To my surprise, it
does not require the use of force, just that the entry was unauthorized. Thus, even if the door is wide open and you
walk right in without any problem, it is still burglary if you are not supposed
to be there and you plan on committing a crime once inside.
Having a dispute over legal fees happens often, but there are better ways to handle the situation - like suing his client in the manner the Florida state bar suggested! I am pretty sure that Ford is going to lose a lot more than he stood to gain at this point. In addition to being disbarred, he will also have a criminal record (which will most likely be a felony) and civil fines for his actions. Working within the law is a good idea for resolving disputes and no one should know this better than a lawyer. But it does make for an even better story when it is a lawyer breaking the law!
By: Violet Petran
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