Offer to settle motion - variation

[proudmommy]

My ex had a motion before the court. I went to court Tuesday and we made an offer to settle their motion. They did not agree to it until minutes before we were to meet with the judge. My lawyer met with my ex's lawyer and my lawyer confirmed that they had accepted my offer to settle their motion with one exception of one matter which was stroked out. While we waited for the judge to sign the docments I noticed that the other side had completely retyped our offer. I asked my lawyer if they had checked what the other side did and my lawyer had confirmed that it was checked. I checked it myself today and found out that they had made other changes that I did not agree with and the offer to settle the motion has been signed off by the judge. How can this situation be rectified? I am so frustrated with the system!!! It is 4 am and I can not sleep from all the stress. I am hoping someone knows the answer to my question.

[standing on the sidelines]

i think you may be screwed, you signed it without reading it yourself first. Not sure if you can fight it but is it worth the cost?? Are the changes that were made really that hard to deal with? You have to weigh the costs of trying to fight it vs the cost of what you lost.

[Berner_Faith]

I agree with Standing... you should have read it yourself, knowing they made changes, you should never rely on just your lawyer...you have to remember you are not the only client they will be dealing with, and s/he may not remember the exact phrases to your agreement...
As Standing said...is it going to be worth the hassle and the costs to bring this back to court?

[proudmommy]

I just spoke with another lawyer at the same firm and they said there is no problem in changing the order. My lawyer is on vacation and I was told that I will need to wait until they come back to make the change. I agree with the previous comments that I need to review everything, however we were already in the court room so I could not review the document and I specifically asked the lawyer if they had reviewed and they said yes.

[Tayken]

Originally Posted by proudmommy

My ex had a motion before the court. I went to court Tuesday and we made an offer to settle their motion. They did not agree to it until minutes before we were to meet with the judge. My lawyer met with my ex's lawyer and my lawyer confirmed that they had accepted my offer to settle their motion with one exception of one matter which was stroked out. While we waited for the judge to sign the docments I noticed that the other side had completely retyped our offer. I asked my lawyer if they had checked what the other side did and my lawyer had confirmed that it was checked. I checked it myself today and found out that they had made other changes that I did not agree with and the offer to settle the motion has been signed off by the judge. How can this situation be rectified? I am so frustrated with the system!!! It is 4 am and I can not sleep from all the stress. I am hoping someone knows the answer to my question.

1. The original offer to settle was couriered so you have evidence and delivery of the offer you sent.

2. You should have reviewed the document in full. This is a common "tactic" that is done by some lawyers. Court room door settlements are often done this way.

3. Your solicitor is at fault for not having verified the content or reviewed it with you.

4. How awful are the changes really? Are the substantial.

5. You should have had a copy of your original offer with you and did a paragraph to paragraph (word to word) comparison. As you both had solicitors present the judge didn't do the double check.

6. Near impossible to fix now probably unless it deals with a substantial issue that is wrong (like say the wrong amount of CS being paid etc...)

Good Luck!
Tayken

[proudmommy]

So all you guys think that my lawyer is lieing to me and this can not be fixed. I don't know what to think anymore. I find it hard to believe that a lay person would be responsible for being on top of the lawyers and that I should suffer for their mistake.

[Exquizique]

Unfortunately, this wouldn't be the first time that a client pays/suffers due to the carelessness/incompetence/unprofessionalism of their lawyer.

It CAN be fixed -- for a whole lot more additional $$$, time and effort, depending on the changes to be made/what's to be fixed.

[HammerDad]

It can be fixed, but how hard it will be depends on whether or not your ex fights your proposed changes.

Unfortunately, you have an agreement on which the ink is barely dry. You signed it with the consult of your lawyer and now it would appear you are having buyers remorse.

In order to now open up the agreement, you will need to prove you were duped or pressured into signing it, even though you signed it on the advice of your lawyer.

Yeah, it sucks that it was a last minute thing and they seemed to get one by you. But it was your obligation to read it to ensure it was satisfactory. Now, unless your ex agrees, you're going to have a tough time changing it (unless it is patently unreasonable).

[Tayken]

Originally Posted by proudmommy

So all you guys think that my lawyer is lieing to me and this can not be fixed. I don't know what to think anymore. I find it hard to believe that a lay person would be responsible for being on top of the lawyers and that I should suffer for their mistake.

If you have good cogent evidence to your lawyer not acting properly then you can take the issue up with the law society. I would go to the lawyer first and make them eat their legals on the issue.

But, again, are the changes you mentioned substantial? Or are they possibly wording updates that really didn't change the result but, made it easier to read? Just because they are "different" in wording doesn't mean they will be different in how they are interpreted.

Good Luck!
Tayken

[proudmommy]

I was told that they took our agreement and suggested one change which we stroked out. It was only when the judge was off signing the agreement that I found out that the other side had retyped everything and then asked my lawyer if they had reviewed it and they said they did. I never signed anything. I was not asked to. My lawyer is on vacation and has said they will fix it. I have said that they will need to fix it at their cost as it was their mistake. I am really surprised at how they are so relaxed about it. I am bothered by it as it is something I really wanted in the agreement. I have told my lawyer that this matter needs to be fixed asap at no cost to me. She is a decent lawyer so I take her at her word. She said these things happen all the time and it is not a big issue. We will see.