From the Dothan Eagle:
By Jim Cook
Published: December 8, 2008
A man protesting outside the Cochran, Cherry, Givens and Smith law firm in downtown Dothan on Monday says his ultimate goal is to be on “Oprah.”
“The reason I want to get on ‘Oprah’ is because when Mr. Cochran was alive he was on her show and he was talking about how he started this firm for the little man,” Mobile resident Clemzo Gildersleeve said. “…In my opinion, the Cochran firm don’t even deserve to be in business.”
Gildersleeve spent several hours Monday morning outside the law firm, protesting what he described as unsatisfactory performance by a lawyer for the firm’s Mobile office on an insurance lawsuit.
In 2004, Gildersleeve’s daughter was rear-ended in an automobile accident. Gildersleeve sought compensation from the other driver’s insurer, Allstate, and was offered a payment he felt was unacceptable. Gildersleeve hired Cochran, Cherry, Givens and Smith attorney Jerome Carter and sued Allstate.
Allstate later offered a settlement in the case, and Gildersleeve says his attorney asked him to accept it. Gildersleeve said he felt the settlement was too low, and wanted to take the matter to court. Carter withdrew from the case and filed a lien against any future settlement Gildersleeve might receive to pay for his services.
On Friday, Allstate settled Gildersleeve’s case for an amount above the original settlement offer, but part of the settlement was diverted to the law firm to satisfy the lien. That deduction led to Gildersleeve’s protest.
Gildersleeve’s protest drew honks from some passersby and one even stopped to ask Gildersleeve if he knew that Johnnie Cochran was dead.
Sam Cherry, Cochran, Cherry, Givens and Smith senior partner, said Carter acted within the bounds of professional conduct in the case and that seeking liens against judgments in cases where the attorney withdraws is standard practice.
Cherry said he doubts Gildersleeve will fulfill his dream of getting on Oprah Winfrey’s television program, but that the man had a Constitutional right to say his peace on Monday.
“The right to express yourself on a sidewalk about a matter of concern to you is your right,” Cherry said. “If you go down to the Dothan Eagle and apply for a job, and they didn’t give you a job, you could go outside with a placard saying that the Dothan Eagle isn’t fair to people applying for jobs. And he’s got the right to do that.”
Interesting article, but I bet the problem with Mr. Gildersleeve is the tortfeasor (the person causing the wreck) did not have enough money to cover the injuries to his daughter and to cover the property damage. Allstate is known for having low limits on their policies and my guess is that is the problem here.
If Mr. Gildersleeve’s daughter had, say $10,000.00 in medical bills, a low limit $25,000.00 policy would mean all she gets (assuming Allstate paid the limits of liability) is $6,666.00.
Formula: $25,000.00 x one-third attorney fee= $8,333.33. So the final “in her pocket number would be: $25,000.00 minus $8,333.33 minus the medical bills of $10,000.00 would leave her $6,666.00, assuming there were no expenses.
Additionally, we now have “gap insurance” offered when you purchase a new car. The reason we now have this “gap” insurance is because it is incredibly difficult to get an insurance company to pay fair value, including depreciation, for a wrecked car. So the “gap” insurance fills the “gap” and if your car is wrecked by a third person at least you won’t be underwater on the load.
The bottom line is it is not the lawyers that are to blame, it is insurance practices and the very unfair personal injury calculus that is inherent in all car wreck cases. The best explanation comes from the movie A Civil Action, written by Steven Zaillian, from the book by Jonathan Harr:
Jan Schlichtmann: It’s like this. A dead plaintiff is rarely worth as much as a living, severely maimed plaintiff. However, if it’s a long agonizing death as opposed to a quick drowning or car wreck, the value can rise considerably. A dead adult in his 20’s is generally worth less than one who is middle-aged, a dead woman less than a dead man, a single adult less than one who is married, black less than white, poor less than rich. The perfect victim is a while male professional, 40 years old, at the height of his earning power, struck down in his prime. And the most imperfect? Well, in the calculus of personal injury law, a dead child is worth the least of all…
By the way, Mr. Gildersleeve hints in the video he might have engaged in a bit of boxing with the lawyer. This is generally a good reason to withdraw from a client’s case.
Also, at the end, he says Cochran, Cherry, Givens and Smith “shouldn’t be in business.” I have to disagree. In Dothan, Sam Cherry and Keith Givens have been fighting the good fight for injured Alabamians since 1983 as a firm. They are good lawyers and do good for their clients. I don’t agree with everything they do as far as marketing, but they are very skilled lawyers and the firm as a whole are likewise the best around.
Bonus points opportunity: Read the comments section to the story. It drifts away from Cochran, Cherry and this story pretty quick to cutting on attorney Rick Hollingsworth in Enterprise. (Another pretty good guy.)
Rick is unfairly commented on and the rest is a train wreck. Enjoy the stupidity.
