Legal victim starts billboard campaign

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon
OregonWatchdog.com

The Taxpayers Association of Oregon noticed this provocative billboard along Portland’s Interstate Hwy 84.  It emphatically states that “Lawyers and judges probably change your life for the worst!”

The billboard presses people to rate and share their legal experience to help others.

The website explains how it started with a Portland real estate broker who had a terrible experience with the legal system.

How it Started, “I created Legal Jive because of a painful legal experience thrust upon my wife and I. I ran a real estate brokerage in Portland, Oregon for 38 years and never was sued. In 2002 my dear mother gave me Power of Attorney of her affairs. In 2012 my mother made me her Trustee. My sweet mother wanted to live in her home for the remainder of her life. My father who was killed in a airplane crash left my mother plenty of liquid assets and real property to grant my mother’s wishes. As my mother’s health failed my brother and sister found a slippery but effective attorney to stop the expensive in home care my mother was receiving. They wanted to protect their inheritance and sued their mother. She died two weeks later. A second lawsuit was filed against myself and my mother’s assets. The lawsuits basically claimed too much money was spent on my mother’s healthcare. Sounds ridiculous, it was but just wait, there is much more…..I decided to hire one of the largest law firms in Portland, Oregon. This powerful law firm laughed at the ” frivolous lawsuits ” and the strip mall attorney who had filed these complaints. They told me, “Do not worry” claimed the $900 per hour law firm “this will be over quickly.” WRONG!! A settlement was reached in May of 2021, 7 YEARS LATER. During those 7 years ridiculous requests were made by opposing counsel just to generate billable hours. My lawyers did nothing to stop this fee generating tsunami. Example, opposing counsel wanted to know where DEPOSITS to my mother’s checking account for $49 and $67 originated. These were deposits NOT withdrawals that had occurred 2 years before her death. Who complains about deposits? Just that request alone cost about $1,500 in attorneys fees.After 7 years approximately $1,500,000 in attorneys fees, “Special-Co-Trustee” fees and mediator fees have been spent by people who were not intelligent enough to realize what was being done to them. The attorneys and their “associates” never let go. If I had not found a way to stop this madness it would still be going on until the money well ran dry. This is why Legal Jive was created. We can share our knowledge. We can sort the good from the bad. I know as fact that the intention of the legal system was meant to be fair yet it rarely is because of human nature and greed.”

It is difficult to determine the full context and authenticity of the man’s story, but it does represent someone who is trying to share their experience and start a movement.