Class Action Suit Brought Against Colorado Attorney Who Allegedly Charged Clients For "Phantom Work"; Billed Out 42 Hours In One Day, Says Complaint

The Colorado Springs Gazette reports:

• Gretchen Smith, 73, hit a stretch of hard times in 2004. Within a short period, her daughter and her sister died, and she was diagnosed with cancer. In the next 13 months - after having a spotless criminal record - she picked up three drinking-and-driving charges.

• A word-of-mouth recommendation led her to longtime Colorado Springs attorney Mark Rue. He took $19,500 from Smith and didn't give her a clue how he earned it, according to a class-action lawsuit filed last month. The suit alleges that Rue "acted deceitfully,"stole money from an "at-risk" adult - because of Smith's age - and acted unethically as her attorney. Hundreds of others could also be victims, according to the lawsuit filed by Colorado Springs attorney Ed Farry.

• "Rue charged Ms. Smith for phantom time expenditures, and engaged in conduct intended to cheat her and to mislead and deceive her into believing that he devoted more professional time to his representation of her than he actually did," the lawsuit states. According to the suit, Rue claimed he worked 42 hours for Smith, and several others, in a single day.

For more, see Lawyer accused of theft and unethical actions in class-action suit.

If a Colorado attorney is representing you and screws you out of money or property through dishonest conduct, go to the Colorado Supreme Court's Attorneys' Fund for Client Protection for more information. For other states and Canada, see:

• Directory Of Lawyers' Funds For Client Protection (American Bar Association - March, 2008);
• Check the USA Client Protection Funds Map;
• Check the Canada Client Protection Funds Map.

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