DEMAND TO PROVIDE SPECIFIC REASONS AND NOT VAGUE STATEMENTS

An Opinion By Jan Bergemann
President, Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc.

Published June 8, 2009

Your board wants to cancel the services of the law firm of Clayton & McCulloh in Maitland, Florida? They better not only cancel the services, but fill out the required Cancellation Notice up to the standards of this law firm, because otherwise they are charged an extra $100.00.

This is one of the more "interesting" statements on the 2-page Cancellation Notice Questionnaire:

An incomplete or improperly completed Cancellation Notice is subject to a $100.00 Cancellation fee!

Click here to review the complete CANCELLATION OF REPRESENTATION AGREEMENT.

And the law firm wants the specific reasons, not some wishy-washy! You better be very accurate -- see the question: "We decided against continuing our relationship with Clayton & McCulloh because (please provide specific reasons and not vague statements):"

Because if you don't fill it out right you have to pay an extra $100.00 -- for beating around the bush?

I thought we have seen it all -- from HIGHWAY ROBBERY to INVENTIVE INTERPRETATION to ATTEMPTS TO CIRCUMVENT THE LAWS -- but these association attorneys always come up with something new to squeeze some money out of association members.

I'm not quite sure yet how they want to enforce the collection of the Cancellation Fee, the notice doesn't provide the details.

File a law suit or lien and foreclose on the home of the board president -- or just hold the association's files hostage until they received the cancellation fee? I'm really not quite sure, but I honestly got a kick out of it when reading the CANCELLATION OF REPRESENTATION AGREEMENT.

To even the playing field how about this suggestion: Every association willing to sign up with the law firm of Clayton & McCulloh gets a $100.00 bonus if signing the retainer contract at the right place -- the dotted line?