How does one find a lawyer out of state? (asking for a friend)

Jim K

Jim K

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So my friend has a problem. He paid a mechanic a lot of money to fix a problem with his airplane and found that said mechanic did the work incorrectly, causing the failure to reoccur, and lied on the log entry/8130. He would like to speak to a lawyer to see if it's worth pursuing the guy, or a waste of money & energy. He managed to find a lawyer locally who has GA experience, but that lawyer said my friend needs to contact a lawyer in the state the mechanic resides in. Let's say for argument it's....Alabama. Where does my friend even start? Is it worth pursuing? I told him to call AOPA's legal services department, but he's not a member because he's a cheap-ass or doesn't like AOPA or something. Might be able to talk him into joining if they would be able to help.
 
Most state bar associations offer a lawyer referral service. There's also Google or he might want to try the Aviation Lawyers Association (ala.law) or the Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association (lawyer-pilots.org).
 
Have him call Robert Schulte in Maryland. Very experienced in aviation. 410-822-1200

He would be a great resource on where to begin. Frequently on BeechTalk. Defended Trent Palmer.
 
I would start with the AOPA legal services. It's pretty inexpensive and can offer advice nationwide. If he is too cheap to pay for that, he may pay a heck of a lot more pursuing other ways.
 
Dave Theisen said:
Does your friend happen to have an engine in pieces on the bench out in the barn? :)
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Nope. He already took most of it to the machine shop, and the rest is in the back seat of his pickup :biggrin:
 
If it was Louisiana I could help…or you could bump it to federal court I could make a suggestion…only because I spent five years with five different lawsuits on a lease back Aircraft that was involved in a fatal…but unless you talking major financial loss it’s really a push when hiring a lawyer these days…
 
Warlock said:
unless you talking major financial loss it’s really a push when hiring a lawyer these days
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Yeah, my suspicion is no one is going to be interested in it, as we're "only" talking about $11K.
 
Since it's Alabama, I know a guy that has a cousin named Vinny...

The situation sucks but I think you're correct, I would think it's doubtful an attorney will take your case unless on retainer. Going that route it's likely to get expensive and you may be in a situation where you win the battle but lose the war. Another question is would you be entitled to the full $11K? I have no idea, but I could see an argument being made that the repair lasted 3 years and 375 hours which was well outside of the 100 hour warranty, so not a complete loss.

The Small Claims limit in Alabama appears to be $6K and while that amount doesn't come close to making you whole, if it was me, I would go that route...
 
Even if it turns out to be a wash I’m thinking this unhappy experience needs to be made part of the public record. Duty to warn in other words. Did that fraudulent engine work expose your friend (and his family) to unanticipated risk? I have no legal or maintenance background but it seems there is a basic principle at issue here. Maybe not, of course.
 
Piperonca said:
Even if it turns out to be a wash I’m thinking this unhappy experience needs to be made part of the public record. Duty to warn in other words. Did that fraudulent engine work expose your friend (and his family) to unanticipated risk? I have no legal or maintenance background but it seems there is a basic principle at issue here. Maybe not, of course.
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Agreed. I had an engine shop in Australia act very badly in regards to failure of work that they had done. The process of taking them to court was a hassle, and as a complete beginner to that I learned a lot that I'd do differently, but it was worth it for some accountability.
 
I was thinking something like this checklist could be useful (to include finding a lawyer if all else fails) : Small claims in Alabama

Not a member of AOPA legal services anymore but they did come through for me years ago with a case in Tennessee. Set me up with a aviation knowledgeable local guy smooth as butter. The cost was insignificant compared to the favorable outcome. Got lucky on that one.

Back in the day when I was poor I drove Volkswagens. Had a 'shade tree' mechanic do a shoddy overhaul one time that resulted in swallowing a valve in a desolate stretch of Arkansas. Got nothing from that one. Years later a very similar event happened in St. Louis, but it was a dealer that time and I got a new engine out of it. Didn't need representation because I contacted the national HQ and told them my wife was in the car with me and we could have been killed. Heard no more quibbles after that.

Something about those air-cooled engines, right?
 
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idahoflier said:
Since it's Alabama, I know a guy that has a cousin named Vinny...

The situation sucks but I think you're correct, I would think it's doubtful an attorney will take your case unless on retainer. Going that route it's likely to get expensive and you may be in a situation where you win the battle but lose the war. Another question is would you be entitled to the full $11K? I have no idea, but I could see an argument being made that the repair lasted 3 years and 375 hours which was well outside of the 100 hour warranty, so not a complete loss.

The Small Claims limit in Alabama appears to be $6K and while that amount doesn't come close to making you whole, if it was me, I would go that route...
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I don't know why you'd bring up my issue, when I clearly said I was asking for a friend. :)

I have no idea about what -his- damages are legally speaking. I think that when negligence is involved, as i believe it to be in this case, the whole cost of the repair is at stake. He feels that this is a pretty obvious case that shouldn't take to much of a lawyer's time. Possible even a "lawyer letter" brings a resolution.

The trouble with small claims court is that you must file in their jurisdiction, appear in court, and hire your own witnesses so it's not just some rando arguing against a government blessed maintenance expert. My friend does not have the time or patience for that. He has written off the money, it's more an issue of convincing this mechanic to actually look at manufacturer guidance and not make things up for log entries. If a lawyer isn't interested the FSDO is the next step. He only wants to burn one bridge at a time though.
 
I would think an obstacle your friend might face is that a disinterested third party didn't do the teardown or at a minimum a person who has a powerplant certificate didn't do the work. I would think a defense lawyer could raise enough questions about that to torpedo a case. I don't know though. :dunno: Questions along those lines are sure to be raised.
 
Jim K said:
Yeah, my suspicion is no one is going to be interested in it, as we're "only" talking about $11K.
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Our experience earlier this year is that $350/hr is the going rate. Alabama’s small claims limit is only $6K, so that’s option is likely off the table.

Depending on the desired outcome, a settlement may be an option, especially if the shop is insured appropriately.
 
After hiring a lawyer after a customer wrote 2 bad checks totalling 8500. Paid a 3k retainer to take him to court only to blow through that just to settle and still not see a dime as of yet. I still see signs where this guy is doing work locally. I wouldn't hold my breath on anything monetary coming back. Notorious scumbag who's wife rented a skid steer and then sold it in a farm and fleet parking lot and claimed it was stolen. No jail time.

Personally, if I was your friend I'd report this guy to the FSDO and hopefully give this guy a massive headache.
 
If your goal is primarily to warn others, it might be more effective to take out full page ads in a few flying magazines with the photos and a copy of the invoice.....
:devil:
 
The FSDO is already paid for. The lawyer might add wallet-insult to wallet-injury.

Plus, if I get a lawyer, I’m the director. If I use the FSDO, I just hit the launch button and the missle does its thang.
 
Your friend is already out 11k. In my experience I have only found that lawyers add to how much more I am out, and only accomplish getting themselves paid not me. FSDO is an option. My only concern with that is how much is the FSDO going to be looking in your friends direction as well. Not that your friend is doing anything wrong I personally am just not interested in a self prescribed rectal exam from any govt agency.

Me I probably just eat it and save all the junk parts he used and mail him a piece once a month anonymously with a post it not attached saying thanks for nothing d!ckhead. Does it accomplish anything not likely, but it would give me something to chuckle about. :D
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
The FSDO is already paid for. The lawyer might add wallet-insult to wallet-injury.

Plus, if I get a lawyer, I’m the director. If I use the FSDO, I just hit the launch button and the missle does its thang.
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But would you get the satisfaction of seeing the explosion from afar? Or would you be left wondering if it hit its mark
 
Most of us, if we stay in this business long enough, end up eating something that is very unpalatable. Early on I lost $6k to a sleazy deal. I thought about lawyering up, but quickly realized it would be good money after bad. Suck it up, c’est la vie.

My dad told me many times education always costs you something.
 
I'm going to toss out an idea that doesn't have any right to work. Based on not wanting to go small claims court, and that you're already prepared to eat the damages, I'm betting this is more about educating the mechanic in a monetary way to hopefully avoid, one way or another, for someone else to end up in an unsafe aircraft with their family than it is about getting your money back.

So given that assumption, I'd try to find a Alabama tort attorney that's also a pilot to represent you for a reduced fee, contingent on all or a percentage of any recovered damages going to a charity. I say this without any understanding at all of how Alabama or any other state's law works. But as long as you and your attorney don't think you can lose badly enough to have to pay the mechanic's legal fees, I'd say it might be a win for you. And since it's the Internet, I'm going to give another free guess... If he has professional liability insurance and it looks like you have a halfway decent case, I think they're going to settle. If he doesn't, he's going to quickly wish he did.

All guessing, not advice, not an attorney, not a mechanic, in spirit barely an adult.
 
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