Sunday, September 17, 2006
Simmons, Jannace & Stagg Web Release
I was recently made aware of a web release that was about the September 11th Victims Compensation Fund. I am not sure what people are thinking sometimes. It's no wonder attorney have a bad name. Some attorney's though are good to work with and it seems that Simmons Jannace & Stagg may be one of the few good ones. Read this article about the unethical practices of one attorney. Here is a quote from the web release:
After September 11, 2001, the September 11th Victims Compensation Fund was created for those who lost loved ones in the attack. The Fund is a no-fault system designed to maximize compensation to the families of victims. Contingency fees by attorneys representing families were disfavored. Against this background, Simmons, Jannace & Stagg was asked by a widow of a man who died in the attacks to represent her in connection with a lawsuit filed in federal court by the attorney who represented her before the Victims Compensation Fund. The attorney sought $2,000,000 as a contingency fee. He filed suit in federal court seeking a declaratory judgment entitling him to his fee. Simmons, Jannace & Stagg moved to dismiss the federal action, arguing that the Victims Compensation Fund did not provide federal jurisdiction for an action by an attorney seeking to protect his fee. We also argued that there was no reported case that upheld jurisdiction under the Fund where the issue concerned a private dispute between an attorney and his former client concerning the amount of a legal fee. Simmons, Jannace & Stagg pointed out that there was no reported case upholding such an exorbitant fee for representation before the Victims Compensation Fund.
