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eventually creates desperation and
depression among the youth and they end up committing crimes. The society
labels such individuals as criminals and a time comes when these people
become compulsive criminals. The system has been designed to monitor that
these criminals do not get rehabilitated but continue coming back to fill
the jails to support financial empires made by some special interest
individuals.
Crime rate can only be reduced if at an
early stage the criminals undergo strict penalties so that they can in
reality be discouraged to repeat any type of mishap to society.
In 1998, when I bought my son a new BMW
automobile, he got a speeding traffic ticket. On the day of his hearing I
went with him to the court. The local judge and Assistant District Attorney
knew me so they asked me what they could do for me. I took the Asst. DA in
his chamber and asked him to give the severest possible punishment to my
son. He told me that this was his first ticket so he could put him on a
three-month probation period or ask him to take a defensive driving course.
I, on the other hand, insisted that he should be fully punished. At the end
of the day, I pursued him to place him on a probation period of one year and
commit him to perform 24 hours of community service in an increment of four
hours every weekend to clean Sylvan Beach in Laporte Texas. The Asst. DA was
so overwhelmed by this reaction of mine that after my son had finished his
punishment both the judge and DA gave me compliments. They stated that they
wished most of the parents would take this type of action to avoid
repetition of the crimes from their offspring. They did not know that my son
never got another ticket and I kept him safe and healthy. My son still does
not know that I forced the DA to punish him to the highest level. Parents
who support their children’s bad habits must take strict measures at an
early stage to streamline their children’ ways to life. The judges, side by
side, should promote programs to rehabilitate youngsters rather than dump
them in jails.
People like us, who have some influence in
society, must streamline their ways to discourage crime rather than support
the criminals.
In 1957, when I was only 6 years old, I was
honored to be the first position holder in my primary School year. My father
Karamullah Memon was serving as Muktiarkar of Hyderabad Taluka. He visited
my school and enquired about my top position in the class. The teacher
proudly told him that I was placed on top since I was his son. My father was
not only unhappy with this action but punished me by making me repeat my
first grade to ensure that foundation of my education be very strong. This
could be one of the contributing factors of my success in life that I was
disciplined and we were never let take advantage of our political and
official positions.
In 1963, my father was specially posted to
curb heavy crime at a tribal area of Jhatpat, 11 miles east of Jacobabad
Sindh. Before moving there, he requested the Law Secretary to grant him the
special Section 30 power to coupe with the crime. This special power
allowed him to award extensive sentencing with no bail from the higher
court. Within the first month of his posting in the area, he sentenced
people to five years rigorous punishment for steeling a chicken; ten years
for a goat, and fourteen years for a cow. He would decide a murder case
within two weeks and order death penalty with no appeals. On one hand, it
came to be huge a burden on my father’s shoulders as he could have misused
powers or made mistakes. But due to his utmost dedication and undoubted
honesty, the government supported him and he was successful in reducing the
crime to almost zero. This way the law and order was restored and people
started living a normal life. In my view, stiff sentencing makes people
avoid route of crime.
In 1988, we were robbed during noontime when
two criminals who knew us got away with them $ 10,000 cash and gold and
jewelry worth $ 10,000. Once they were arrested, they were released after
serving one month in jail. We receievd nothing back; nor the police ever
recovered any valuables from these culprits. I asked the DA upon their
release: “What message are you trying to give?” One can steel $ 20000 and
stay one month in jail on the government’s expenses and be out on the
street. So who would like to make an honest living? If these people had been
sentenced for 10 years in prison and forced to pay the restitution for the
money they stole, I am pretty sure, they would have been rehabilitated by
the end of their penalty. The irony of the situation is that these criminals
become habitual of crime as five years later I found out that one of them
became a killer.
In another case, my store manager staged a
robbery and got away with the company’s safe with $ 5000 plus in it. He not
only got away but was never charged due his Caucasian origin. The police
assumed that I would get the money from the insurance company anyway; so
they saved one of their own people not estimating that this young man kept
on doing similar things and most probably is in jail for some major crime.
Again, if they had been hard on him, he could have been transformed into a
better person. If we do that, we will not need so many judges, prosecutors,
attorneys and extensive police.
Due to severe economical disparity in the
minorities, there is a tremendous increase in mental diseases, which has
resulted in a heavy rise in crime. As we are triggered to put people behind
the bars, we often forget that there is a special need to rehabilitate
people with mental and psychological disorders. The United States of
America, being the most advanced country in the medical field, has still not
been able to find cure for manic depression, bipolar, schizophrenia and many
other mental disorders. Doctors have a tendency to treat most of these
ailments with heavy medications right from the junior high school period of
the kids causing severe problems. Instead of being treated with extensive
therapy, the children are drugged, and at the end of the day most of these
people commit crimes and become a giant liability to society.
On the civil side, things are not that bad
comparing to most of the advanced countries. The disposal of cases is very
impressive; however, attorneys with inside influence can linger on with the
cases but eventually the system catches up with them. The decisions made by
the judges are again questionable depending on their political affiliations
and contributions received from their political supporters.
I have fought for about forty cases related
to my businesses during last 25 years. In one case, I clearly stated that a
District Judge favored the opponent due to some political contributions
received from the other party.
In most of the other cases, judges were fair
except one federal court judge who was very arrogant and cocky. Most of the
times, judges forget that they are humans not God and should keep their feet
on earth rather than act like Almighty. Arrogance has become an essential
feature of most of the judges.
On the other hand, some judges are very
honest and their staff is humble and helpful. For example, a court
coordinator of a Probate Court helped me up to the extent that during the
trial I had to tell everyone in the court room by extending my gratitude and
compliments for her dedicated service to people like us who are not
represented by an attorney. We should know that the intention should be to
serve the people and uphold the law of the land.
Another instance is of another judge. He
was very arrogant and misbehaved with me when as I wanted to represent
myself in the matter. This judge insisted that I should retain an attorney
that was against my constitutional right and upon my questioning I was
almost put behind the bars for bringing contempt to the court.
Judges who violate the constitutional rights
of people must be educated and public commissions must put a constant check
on performance of the judges to safeguard the rights of common the man.
Once, I was traveling from Mississippi to
Houston. I was stopped for speeding near Nachez Mississippi. Although it is
true that I was driving over the assigned speed, I asked the constable to
check his radar equipment to make sure that it was calibrated. Since he was
confident enough of the fact that I was over speeding, he refused to let me
check the calibration date of his equipment and gave me a speeding
violation. Upon my return to Houston, I wrote a letter to the judge about
this incident and asked his opinion as to why the constable violated my
constitutional right to check the calibration of his equipment. To my utmost
surprise, I received a personal call from the local judge apologizing for
the misconduct of the constable and dismissed the violation with a caution
that I would be careful while passing through Mississippi in future. I was
so much impressed by the conduct of this judge that I ultimately felt very
embarrassed that I, being guilty of misconduct, got away because of
arrogance of the constable. The common man needs to get educated to
safeguard their rights as one thing is rest assured that this country still
has the best laws and an honest judicial system as compared to those of in
any other countries of the world.
To my critical eye, the American legal
system should make the following changes:
Ø
All the judges should be
appointed not elected. All appointments are made irrespective of the party
affiliations by independent panels that should exercise a check for their
credentials.
Ø
All the judges, prosecutors,
police officials, and attorneys should be trained periodically and evaluated
for their performance by civilian commissions that should hear grievances
against them.
Ø
All the first time offenders
should be punished with some kind of sentencing and a long-term
rehabilitation program.
Ø
Special stress should be
nurtured for the rehabilitation of the people by training them to be active
members in society rather than dumping them on the street after their
criminal acts.
Ø
Special considerations should
be given to people with mental disorders.
Encounters with the Law Enforcement Agencies
(1)
My first encounter with the
local police happened in 1988. I have owned a fast food at Deer Park Texas
since 1985. I called the police to arrest an employee of Pizza Hut who was
swapping food for food with our employees. Instead of arresting the thief,
the officer threatened me as if I myself was the thief. While talking to
someone else outside, he called me an “F” Iranian and wanted to arrest me
for calling cops to arrest a white boy. When I heard the conversation, I
told him to leave and told him that I would bring this matter before his
superiors. I wrote a complaint to the local chief of police with a copy to
the President of U.S.A., Governor of Texas, Attorney General and many more
government officials. The Chief of Police, then, appointed a very seasoned
police captain to investigate the case. During the investigation, it was
revealed that an Anglo police officer of the local force was witness to the
threat made to me and he showed his courage and honesty to verify my count
of events. Subsequently, I was told that the officer was out of line but if
punished and terminated will make my life difficult in a small town. I was
advised that I should withdraw my complaint to save the whole police
department from embarrassment. In return, the chief of police made efforts
to transfer this officer to a desk job for the next seven years.
Conclusion: As my father was a magistrate
and one time additional secretary of Home Department controlling the whole
police department of the Sindh Province, I knew that becoming enemy of the
local police was just like getting your death warrant. Though the police in
the U.S.A. follow the rules of law, they still have so much power that they
can make your life miserable. Besides, if you are doing business in a small
town with all the police people against you, your investment is going to go
down the drain. Therefore, it was a better decision to make friends in the
department and settle the matter with them. This kept me out of trouble with
them and I continued my business for last twenty plus years. As a minority,
I would recommend you to register complaints for any uncivil attitude shown
by any government official but to keep good documentation and eventually
make a compromise but do not be scared and leave a bad official unpunished.
(2)
In January 1991 we hired a girl
to work at the store. The sales of the store were down after hiring this
girl who used to work at the driveway counter dealing the customer through
the window. On November 4, 1991, I stalked outside the store and counted the
number of cars coming along the driveway. After four hours of the count I
went into the store and found out that thirteen customers were not rang in
the cash register. Upon my inquiry from her, she got furious and starting
throwing things in the store and all the employees held her and threw her
outside the store. Knowing my experience with the police I did not report
this incident. This was a mistake of mine because she moved away and filed a
criminal report against me for which I had to fight in the court. Though I
eventually won but it cost me so much time and a few thousand dollars in
attorney fees.
Conclusion: Unfortunately, our legal system
is based on this notion that anyone can file charges against you and you
have to spend thousands of your hard-earned dollars just to safeguard your
respect. Despite the fact that even if you are acquitted, what you have been
victimized of is your life savings. A case against Houston Police Chief,
C.O. Bradford, who was a friend of mine, was a similar instance of the same
fallacy of the system. It cost him almost $ 100,000 to save his respect and
it eventually cost him his job too. I wish we could develop some kind of
restitution system in which if the case is not proved against someone, at
least the financial burden is shared by the party who brings falsified
charges. Though we believe in the notion of guilty until proved, both
the media and the system drag you to the ground before you have been
convicted guilty. Some civic organization should take up this issue to
safeguard such innocent people as have not been convicted guilty for a false
charge levied against them.
(3)
Some time in March 1993, our
house was burglarized in broad daylight between 12 and 1p.m. Jewelry worth $
10,000 and approximately $ 10,000 in cash, a collection of deposits of a few
days’ income from various businesses, were taken. The suspicion was that one
of my maintenance workers who worked at my home knew that we had not
installed any alarm in the house. Most probably it is the very person who
masterminded the plan of breaking into the house through the back window and
committing the evil act of robbery. Later on, we were told that a person was
charged for the burglary and sent to jail for six months; however, due to
good interpersonal skills was released just in one month. In my view, this
person may have been used to burglarize our house but the mastermind was the
maintenance man who knew the demography of our house.
Conclusion: Basic mistake on our part was to
keep so much money at home and with no alarm. It was an open invitation to
burglars. We had an impression that this area was safe and such thing would
never happen to us. The system again did not work. The thief stole and spent
all the money and went to jail for six months only for burglary of a
habitation. What is more? They got out in just one month’s time due to over
crowded jails. No restitution was enforced on him and he got out clear. This
is the bad message being conveyed to the people reminding them that they
have no recourse. If we punish the culprit and make him pay twice as much as
he actually stole, the restitution then is that the crime can be reduced. My
father, being a magistrate, was sent to a remote tribal area where there was
no respect of law. He started punishing people with 7 years jail term for
steeling a chicken, 10 years for steeling a goat and 15 years for steeling a
cow. In three months, the burglaries were down by 98%. The punishment has to
be strong to eliminate the crime. On the other hand, the police thought that
we were trying to get an insurance claim and did not believe that we did not
carry such insurance. At the end of the day we were out for more than $
20,000 in cash and property.
(4)
On November 3, 1994, I reported a break in
my business Universal Postal and Travel Services. Approximately an amount of
$ 5000 in cash was taken away from the safe and cash register. The break in
was staged by one of the employees who left one of the doors open and showed
a break in. However he was the only one who had the combination of the safe
which was found open. The Police did not arrest him nor was any action
taken. The police observed no arrests or contact, except that an offence
report was filled.
Conclusion: The business did not carry any
insurance; henceforth, this was a complete loss. Apparently such reports do
not get much attention from the local police because of insurance claims. In
a case in which property and/or cash is involved, the Police think that the
insurance is going to cover the damages but at the end of the day people
like us, who did not carry theft insurance, lose the money and the thief
gets at large. I see him all the times with a sarcastic look on his face
saying to me: “You could not nor can do anything to me.”
What I would like to advise the reader is
you must carry theft and liability insurance if you are handling a lot of
cash. Get background checks done for your employees to make sure they have
no past criminal record.
(5)
A few months after 9/11, I
received a call from a FBI agent asking me to visit me on an urgent basis. I
tried to convince him that I was busy that week, but he insisted on meeting
the very next day. I agreed to invite him to meet me at one of my stores.
After his arrival, he told me that there had been a complaint from my
neighborhood registering that there was some suspicious activity noticed at
my home. I practically laughed and asked him if he had run any background
check on me. I showed him my ID card and informed him that I was Advisor to
The Mayor of City of Houston, President Elect for Pakistan Chamber of
Commerce, and Trustee for Pakistan Association of Greater Houston. I told
him about my political and business involvement in the city and wondered how
he could make the judgment that there was some suspicious activity at my
home. He was very polite and courteous and agreed with me that may be some
fired employee had made the call. He then told me to get back to me any time
if needed. I agreed and told him that he was doing his job and I had no
problem to see him to discuss any issues he wanted to address. We both
talked in detail about 9/11 and I gave him perspective of an American Muslim
and offered any help whatsoever to make him understand that most of the
Muslims are moderate and a vital part of mainstream America. At the end, we
left as friends.
After a few weeks he called me to help him
in some investigation and I gladly supplied him information he asked for
which could have helped him.
Conclusion: After 9/11, some civil rights
have been curbed but in my view we have to act as normal as possible when we
encounter the law enforcement officials. We need to be courteous, polite,
low profile and helpful. One thing is rest assured somewhere there is a
reason why they are visiting you; so if you settle the matter with them
faster, they will be out of your life sooner.
Comparing the law enforcement agencies with
those of in Pakistan where I have experienced so many incidents while my
father was in high profile government positions; I think the law enforcement
agencies in the U.S.A. are still better at handling people. You should know
that they are always dealing with criminals and the first look they give you
is like you are one of them too, until you prove with your actions that you
are a law-abiding citizen. I think if you follow the law and rules of basic
decent conduct you will be out of trouble.
(6)
On September 25, 1995, FBI sealed my office
of Universal Postal and Travel Services upon a complaint from someone that I
was selling stolen airline tickets. The agents and the local police searched
all the premises but could not come up with any stolen tickets. However,
they took my office computer, printer, photocopier, and fax machine to
investigate for some criminal activity by sifting the data. None the less,
they could not find anything. I hired a criminal attorney to handle the case
for me; he told me to continue my business as usual. Eventually, after four
years I received a letter from FBI, dated April 7, 1999; it stated that
nothing was found and I should come and take possession of my equipment. On
April 28, 1999, I collected the equipment.
Conclusion: If analyzed, the FBI perspective
may reveal that it must be hard for them to decide who to raid and who not
to as so many people make complaints against their enemies. In this case I
received lot of mental anguish and loss of $ 2000 in attorney fees to rescue
myself. Again I think there should be recourse for people like us to get
restitution for the mental anguish and loss of revenue due to false
complaints. But you have to be very strong to fight against the giants like
FBI. I wonder people with less education must be in a bigger mess if such
things happen to them. Similarly, I cannot blame the law enforcement
authorities not to weigh the validity of such complaints. So there is no win
situation for any one.
Miscellenous Legal Actions of Smaller
Magnitude
My Manager, Sajjad Siddiqui, caused me to
undergo the hugest loss of approximately $ 10,000 in credit card frauds and
receiving bad checks. As he was related to me I did not pursue any criminal
action against him. Due to his negligence and ignorance my company lost more
than $ 10,000.
Moral: Never hire any of your relatives.
Help them financially; refer them to get job somewhere else, but never hire
your relatives. In the end of the day you will be either a loser or called a
bad guy.
Following individuals rendered bad checks to
get services from my company. These bad checks were never recovered even
after filing criminal complaints in the constable’s office.
|
1 |
Mohan Bhowani |
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma |
$ 357.50 |
|
2 |
S.D. Cunningham |
Houston Texas |
$ 546.00 |
|
3 |
Iftikhar Dean |
Houston, Texas |
$ 688.00 |
|
4 |
Stanley McDonald |
Houston, Texas |
$ 150.00 |
|
5 |
Joyce Thomas |
Cypress, Texas |
$ 220.00 |
|
6 |
Computech Computers |
Bellaire Texas |
$ 278.00 |
|
7 |
Moses Abiola |
Albuquerque New Mexico |
$ 1496.00 |
|
8 |
Kimberly Furlong |
Pasadena Texas |
$ 252.00 |
|
9 |
Ebito. A. Efiong |
Houston Texas |
$ 1865.00 |
|
10 |
Tina Sweetin |
Alvin, Texas: Ex. Employee |
$ 1814.15 |
|
11 |
William Chapman |
Texas City, Texas |
$ 798.64 |
Following individuals used fraudulent credit
cards and purchased merchandise for which we were charged back from the
credit card companies:
1. Mohammad S. Yusuf, Houston, Texas, $
11000.00: (referred to by Gul Faraz Khan, President , Pakistan chamber of
Commerce-USA who refused to help to locate him till today.)
2. Arielle King, Houston Texas, $ 486.00
Conclusion: Never release services until
large amount checks are cleared.
Civil Cases
1996 Manzoor A Memon Vs Rafique Loya
Case # 688639 Harris County Civil Court
Number 4
In March 1996, I wanted to buy back Prime
Time Video, which I had sold to Mohammed Saeed and Rubina Saeed, owing to
some problems (details given in case Manzoor Memon Vs Mohammed Saeed). To
negotiate the deal I was introduced to Rafique Loya, presumably a broker.
During the deal I gave a cashier’s check amounting $ 10,000 written in the
name of Mohammed Saeed and Rubina Saeed as a down payment for buying back
the video store, which was sold to them earlier. Mr. Loya forged the
signature of two recipients and cashed the check and pocketed the money. I
filed criminal and civil charges against him. He was picked up by the
Houston police Department and got bailed out in one day by Altaf Adam, an
ex-convict-turned-attorney during his stay in the federal penitentiary. He
got probation and due to lack of funds, even we got the judgment against him
and no money was recovered.
Conclusion: Loya has cheated on several
Houston families and he is still at large. The worst part is that the
community, particularly Memon Jamait, still acknowledges him as a
respectable member. Whereas such crooks should be boycotted and blacklisted
from the community. Again this is a classic example of loopholes in the law
where a crook got away with six months’ probation and steeling $ 10,000. The
law should be tough on these white color criminals. I am pretty sure that if
he had been sent to prison for two years with a condition to pay
restitution, he could have been rehabilitated. But with the present system,
he is still cheating on people with no recourse for innocent victims.
1993: Manzoor Memon Vs Ford Motor Co.
Case # 22307 JP Prescient. 2, Pos 2
I purchased a new Lincoln Town car in 1989.
In May 1993 while it was under warranty, it caught fire in the steering
column. The ignition switch installed by Ford Co. was the cause of the fire.
Luckily, I was about 200 feet away from the fire department located in
Webster Texas. Even though there was substantial damage, it cost about $
4,326.81. A small claim case # 22307 was filed in Justice of the Peace
court. A jury trial was requested and I lost the case. I tried to prove to
the court and the jury that it was a unique case in which the ignition
switch caught fire without any apparent reason. Ford Company’s attorneys
kept on arguing that this was a solo case. I wonder about the knowledge of
the court and jury because similar cases had been previously reported to
Ford Company. I got the car repaired with my deductible and the insurance
company paid for the rest of the damage. On April 26, 1996, Ford Company
finally accepted their responsibility of the faulty ignition switch and a
class action was filed against Ford by Moore and Brown Attorney’s from
Washington DC. This firm contacted me and used my case to get the matter
settled but cheated on me by giving me no compensation. However, Ford Co.
settled the matter in a class action suit and took back in possession all
the 1989-Lincoln Town cars for replacement of the ignition Switch.
Conclusion: I lost money but brought a
consumer complaint, which was finally addressed to save several vehicles and
a few lives too. You must raise your voice for a faulty product. I should
have hired a good attorney to get a good settlement; however, I fought this
case as pro-se and lost. Also, I recommend reading the book named Wheels
by Arthur Hailey, who has done an extensive research as how the auto
industry tries to get by from accepting responsibility of mishaps due to
faulty products.
1995: Manzoor Memon Vs Mohammad S. Akhtar
Case # 688640 CCC at Law 1, Harris County
Case # 97-50049 164th , District Court
Case # 97-28506 125th, District Court
Case # 688639 CCC at Law 1, Harris County
Case # 22584, 22585,225586 JP Court, Pr2 Pos 2
My family was invited to a Christmas party
on December 25, 1995. In the party we were introduced to this couple
Mohammed Saeed and Rubina with two grown up children. Mutual friends told a
horror story of them: they had neither a job, nor a place to live, and
nothing to eat. My wife and I being sensitive about helping people asked
them if they would like to relocate and take a job with us. Subsequently, in
the lines upcoming, the reader will read about one the worst experiences of
my life. This can be best visualized by an Urdu saying: “NEEKI KAR DARYA
MAIE DAL”(The good you do to people is something wasted).
We moved the couple to Deer Park, and hired
the wife at our Video store and the husband at Baskin Robbins. After working
for four months we decided to sell the video store. When they found out
about our selling the store, they offered us to buy the business for the
same amount we had received. We signed a sales agreement on March 1, 1996,
with a payment of $ 10,000 cash and the balance was borrowed from my bank
with my guarantee. I signed the guarantee with an understanding that the
business was in an excellent condition and will not only settle them but
will release me from an additional responsibility.
There are some reservations as regards the
legal secrecy of the case as per the court orders so I cannot reveal every
detail. Anyway, I wrote a letter to Mr. Saeed to find a new guarantor for
his loan. I did not want to be a part of their family problems. Upon my
demand the couple had arguments and Rubina furiously filed several civil
cases and criminal charges against me for invading her privacy etc. They
stopped paying rent and other bills for the business and finally I
repossessed the business from them after paying rent amounts of $ 7,044 and
many other bills to keep running the business. In the meantime, the business
was completely downgraded. Eventually, I had to close the business in
October 1997. This ended in a net loss of approximately $ 50,000 out of
which we had to pay the balance loan amount of approximately $ 39,177.00.
During the process of repossessing the business, we lost $ 10,000 to Rafique
Loya, details of which are given in the relevant chapter.
We received two judgments against them for $
5030.00 and $ 189.00, which they appealed and finally all the cases were
joined together and a non-binding arbitration was ordered by the court. The
decision was sealed; however, we lost $ 15,000 in attorney’s fees and $
50,000 for the loan payments etc. At the end of the day, the landlord sued
us for the breaking of the lease for which eventually we had to pay another
$ 33,000 (paid in April 2004).
Conclusion: This is another classic example
of fraud and cheating by our own countrymen. This was a reward for the help
we offered to them. We provided shelter and tried to help them get on to
their feet. We also gave them an opportunity to own a business. My biggest
regret in life has been losses done to me by my own countrymen for whom we
have the utmost love and feelings. My mistake in this case was to co-sign
the loan for them, which made me liable for the balance of the loan. I had
to pay back to keep my credit in line otherwise I would have no way to grow
my business. Another mistake was to get involved in someone’s family
affairs. I should have hired an attorney to handle it or ignored the
situation and slowly pulled myself out of them. Unfortunately, people who
recommended the couple did not support us too and moved aside even from the
lady in the tough hour. According to our religion, it is a big sin to have
an extra marital affair but our friends who pray five times and brag about
standing behind the right, keep aside all the principles when it comes to
real decision. They feel proud to stand by the sinners and support the evil
causes.
Since the very horrible incident of our
life, we have decided to have no close relationship with anyone on the
family level. We are very selective in bringing people to our house. The
charity is done in such a way that there are no strings attached with the
receiver. I do not have any regrets as today the couple is at the same level
working for minimum wage, changing jobs every few months and God has
rewarded us well. I have no complaint from Almighty God who is the judge of
good and bad. My faith is strong that when the circle comes full round, the
devil is punished and good is rewarded. However, this has been one of the
most devastating experiences of our life.
2001: Manzoor Memon Vs Nationwide Mutual
Insurance Co.
Case# SC0005441 JP Prec 2, Pos 2
I filed a case Number SC22C0005441 against
Nationwide Mutual Insurance for denying rental car expenses dully payable
after their client had caused damage in an accident to my daughter’s car on
June 22, 2001. The insurance company paid the body damage bill of $ 2012.80;
whereas the payment of the rental car was not paid in full. The most
difficult part was to find the registered agent who served the notice, which
took three different services and cost $ 45 for each time. An interesting
thing happened that the defendant who caused the accident was served by the
Constable and was deceased. However, I did not give up and sent a filed
motion for interrogatories and documents for production. The insurance
company finally settled the matter in just a few days before the trial date.
Conclusion: Do not give up; build knowledge
of the system and try to find out the registered agent through State of
Texas or relevant state offices. This case was won by me on a pro-se basis.
Generally, in small claims you should fight by yourself. But you need to be
prepared with all the relevant documents.
1990 Manzoor Memon Vs Rubina Khan
Case # 630034, County Civic Court at Law 3,
Harris County
Rubina Khan was an employee of my travel
agency Universal Postal and Travel services. What she was involved in was
purchasing airline tickets from outside sources and pocketing the
commissions while working in my travel agency. As they say a thief is caught
one day, it happened to her too. On Feb 23, 1990, she sold four tickets to a
client Abdul Majeed Qureshi for an amount of $ 4234.00. She accepted the
check in her name, purchased the tickets from Royal Travel, a wholesaler in
town. She pocketed approximately $ 1000 in profit. Unfortunately, she was
fired in the same timeframe and the client brought the tickets for a refund.
After reviewing our books, we found out what she was all about, right under
my nose. We sent the tickets to the wholesaler who refunded $ 2950 for the
tickets subtracting the commission. The check was written by the client in
Rubina Khan’s name. It was thus deposited in her account and this showed
that the client very well knew that the deal was done under the table. We
offered the client a refund received from the wholesaler; he refused, and
filed a suit against our company. The court ordered us to pay the total
amount plus $ 1500 attorney fees as the transition was done on our premises.
We, in turn filed, suit against Rubina Khan for the damages. This case kept
on going for several years with no outcome and we ultimately lost
approximately $ 2784. Rubina Khan, who should have been charged for fraud,
walked away free and is still working in the travel industry and may be
cheating on many more people.
Conclusion: As they say justice is blind, so
was the judge in this case. The message sent by the court is that you can do
anything wrong at someone else’s premises and you will not be responsible.
Judges should study the cases in depth before giving wrong judgments. I had
an attorney and still I lost the case, lost the money and lost so much of my
precious time. My faith in the judicial system was diminishing day by day.
1998 Manzoor Memon/Universal Postal & Travel
Vs KLM Airlines
Cause # H-90-1858 US District Court &
89-48745 189th, District Court
Manzoor Memon/Universal Postal & Travel Vs
British Air ways
Cause # H-91-0052 US District Court
Anthony Illochi Vs Manzoor Memon/Universal
Postal & Travel
Cause # 572985 CCC at # 2
KLM Airlines Vs Lenda Umebuani
Cause # 292229 J.P. Court Prescient one
Babatunde Lawal Vs British Airways, Fast
Travel, Universal Travel
Cause # 90-064163 129th, District
court, Harris County
Cause # H91-0082, US District Court
In October 1988, when my company, Universal
Postal & Travel, had been in business for just one year, I was contacted by
the owner of Fast Travel Inc. from Chicago to start buying international
tickets. At that time, we have been using the wholesalers from New York,
Houston, Miami and Los Angles. After comparing their prices, it was found
out that their prices were a little better than those of other wholesalers.
From November to December, seventy-two tickets worth $ 88123 were purchased
from Fast Travel. Payment for each ticket was made to Fast Travel by company
checks. Several people traveled without a hitch. On December 14, we were
informed that Fast travel was closed and airlines have blacklisted all the
tickets issued by this agency. As soon as the first client was stopped at
the airport we informed the rest of the clients to come back and get new
tickets. Approximately $ 30,236 refunds were made in a week’s time to ensure
safety of the customers. However, a few of the customers were mistreated by
the British Airways out of which B Lawal filed a suit against the British
Airways and won judgement for over $ 25,000 for mental anguish and loss of
business. He also filed suit against Universal Travel but got a judgement
taking nothing from us.
In the case of Anthony Illochi Vs Manzoor
Memon/Universal Postal & Travel, Universal Travel offered a settlement for
the amount of refunds of the ticket. This was accepted by the plaintiff. In
all, Universal Postal & Travel lost approximately $ 45,000 plus $ 5000 in
attorney’s fees. The courts, with an apparent lack of jurisdiction, tossed
out the cases against KLM and the British Airways for our losses. This
caused an additional loss of Attorney fees of $ 5000.
Conclusion: because of lack of experience,
and poor homework to check on the status of the Fast Travel and its owners,
we exposed ourselves to a big bind that almost herded our company to a
bankruptcy. This was another classic example of trusting my own countrymen
who consequently both betrayed my trust and almost put us out of business.
In my twenty-five years business history, anytime I have been deceived by
someone, the person is the one whom I have known and who is from my own
county, Pakistan. I think it is easy for the crooks to cheat on their own
community members because in such a situation the process of trust building
is far quicker.
1993: Rajnikant R. Patel Vs Memon
Corporation Inc.
Case # 94-019258 189th, Harris
County, District Court
On February 13, 1993, I purchased a Video
store named Prime Time Video from Rajnikant R. Patel for an amount of $
58,000. The contract was signed with a $ 25,000 down payment and the balance
of $ 33000 was to be paid in two installments. Within two months, we found
out that the sales figures given by the seller were falsified. As such, we
held out his last payment of $ 18,000. Mr. Patel filed a suit against us for
recovering $ 24,000 including $ 6000 in legal fees. Upon our demand to
provide the previous year sales record and sales tax records Mr. Patel shied
away from the hearing of his case in the court. This reason is simple: he
had falsified sales tax returns, which could have put him in further
trouble.
Mr. Patel withdrew the case with a
compensation of $ 5000 as settlement.
Conclusion: Never buy a business without
getting certified copies of the sales records and sales tax paid to the
Comptroller’s office. Most of south Asian business owners do not pay all due
taxes and at the time of selling their businesses, they exaggerate the sales
figures to get higher price for the business. If you have proper
documentation you can always sue them. This way I got the price of the
business reduced from $ 58,000 to $ 45,000. Never trust verbal figures.
Always do your research. (See my articles: How to Buy, Sell, and Operate
Small Businesses.)
1997:Amber M. Memon Vs In. Re. Synthroid
Marketing Litigation
US District Court, Northern Illinois
Case# 97-C 6017 MDL # 1182
My wife Amber was prescribed a medication
for thyroids. This medication had already caused several problems for many
patients. This was a class action suit against that company which was
finally settled and a handsome amount was awarded as a settlement. Luckily
there was no damage to Amber’s vital organs, as some people had suffered
ruptures of the heart due to this medicine.
This case was very simple only for the fact
that it took two years to get a settlement. The best part was that the
Attorneys worked on all of the case and we did not have to work hard to
settle the matter.
Conclusion: Whenever you receive a notice to
be a part of a class action suit, take some time to look into its details
and join the class action. Down the line you will get something for your
efforts as class action suits are settled on the basis of number of
complainants. The attorneys like to recruit as many people as possible to
make their case strong. You also retain little flexibility on your part to
negotiate your settlement, as they have to settle with everyone. Refer to my
case against Kodak Corporation in which I negotiated a higher settlement
comparing to what I expected to get.
1999: Manzoor Enterprises Inc. Vs A.N.
Rusche Distributing Co.
Case # 1999-32159
District Court of Harris County 90th,
Judicial District
In 1995, I constructed a chevron gas station
with a convenient store. Chevron gas distributing dealer A.N. Rusche Co. had
suspicious dealings particularly in the delivery and gas prices. I had been
keeping a computerized track of the quantities of gas received. This never
matched with our computer connected with our gas tanks. After a long
research, I filed a case against them for deceptive trade practices
including shortage of gas supply and overcharging the gas prices against our
contract obligations. This has been one of the most high tech cases I have
ever fought. I hired an attorney who did not know much about the industry.
However, we teamed up and finally made the defendant settle the case through
a court appointed mediator. The details of the settlement are sealed, as the
defendant did not want to see hundreds of the exact type of cases against
them.
Conclusion: This was a good case to fight as
it was based on technical grounds and I did a lot of research myself to
prove the discrepancies. This saved me a lot of attorney expenses and when
the wheel came to full circle, I recovered most of my damages and was paid
for the time I had to spend on this case. The kernel is that if you are sure
and convicted about the authenticity of your case, fight for it. You have to
be fluent and shrewd to raise voice for your case. As a party, you have to
appear for depositions and stand in the witness stand. Besides, you will
have to be strong and articulate to present your side of the case.
To save money, always ask your attorney to
allow you to discover yourself and help him in organizing your case since,
after all, he is going to charge you for every minute he has spent on your
case.
Manzoor Memon Vs Johnny L. Charles, Attorney
at Law
Court of Justice of Peace, PCT.2 Pos. 2
Harris County, Texas
Case # 00019720
I hired an attorney named Johnny Charles to
conduct a legal case. After receiving initial retainer fees of $ 500.00, he
never showed up in the court to represent me. In turn, I lost a case loosing
$ 1,688 in a judgment against me. I filed this case against the attorney who
never showed up during his hearing. And a judgment against him was rendered
for $ 2,303.00. To date, this judgment has not been recovered, and the
whereabouts of this attorney are still unknown.
Conclusion: Never hire an unknown attorney.
Before hiring an attorney, visit his or her office and see if he or she is
practicing legitimate law, or there is just a phony type. In this case, the
concerned attorney was referred to me by another attorney so I never knew
where his office was. For a small mistake, I lost a substantial amount and a
magnificent pack of my precious time. I sent a copy of the judgment to the
Texas Bar association but they gave no response nor was any misconduct
enquiry held against Attorney Johnny Charles. In this case, the system did
not work and a crook got away with a criminal act.
1999 Manzoor Memon Vs Mercedes-Benz of N.A.
District Court 190th, judicial
district Harris county, Texas
Case # 1999-33160
In May, 1991, I purchased a Mercedes Benz
300 SEL. This car was fully maintained and had only 70 thousand plus mileage
count on it. One day, while driving, the engine housing fell on the road.
Luckily, I was not driving along the freeway or it could have caused a major
accident. The car was towed to a nearby mechanic who found out that the
housing holding the engine was designed to be fixed on a four-bolt frame.
One of the bolts failed to take the weight of the housing causing this
incident.
I wrote a letter to the Mercedes Benz NA
customer service and I was asked to bring the car to the dealer to get it
checked by one of their representatives. He issued the arbitrary decision
that this kind of problem had never occurred in the history of the
manufacture of Mercedes Benz and it was the only incident that I had come
across.
My intention to bring this problem to the
manufacturer’s attention was actually an attempt to assure the inspection of
the other cars to save the lives of people. However, no response was
prompted to me. I therefore filed a suit that was eventually tossed out by
the judge based on the expiration of the warranty of the car. It was very
disappointing that justice was observed and many people driving these
high-priced cars may have faced similar problems without any recourse. Upon
my mechanic’s advice, I made it my routine to get those bolts checked on
every oil change. Since then the problem has not recurred. I wish the
manufacturer had agreed to issue a simple notification to the consumers to
get those bolts checked periodically.
Conclusion: I knew I did not have a chance,
yet I thought that a judge may support my rationale behind the case and do
something positive. I should have hired an attorney but it would have cost
me a few thousand dollars with a least possibility of any return.
In 1995 I had purchased a Chevrolet S10 pick
up. The transmission of this pick up failed three times within first year.
In a letter from an Attorney, I was given an option to keep either the truck
with no more payments due or get a new one. I took the pick up to an AMOCO
Transmission shop who charged me $ 600 to modify the transmission and I kept
the truck for 10 years free of paying but seven initial payments. In this
case, I was the one who was ahead of my opponents. Please read the book
“Wheels” by Arthur Haley. This book takes you on an inside exploratory
journey of the automobile industry and their tacts on how they avoid
consumer complaints.
Memon Corporation Inc. VS Family Dollar
Store
Court of Justice of Peace, PCT. 8. Pos. 1,
Harris county, Texas
Case # SC81C0005266
While maintaining the ownership of several
of my businesses I had installed a pylon sign at a shopping center to
advertise our businesses. Family Dollar store, without my permission or any
payment or installment, put their billboard on my pylon sign. Upon my
demand, no rent was paid at all. It was hard to serve this company because
they were located out of the state. I had to spend extra money to serve them
but finally after two services (one in a California office and the other one
at an Arizona office), I finally got their attention.
They settled the matter before going to
court for a little less than what I had demanded. I took the settlement and
did not take the risk of going to the court.
Conclusion: If you are offered to settle the
case within 75–80% of your demand value and if you are handling your own
case as pro-se, take the offer. The main reason is that JP courts sometimes
do not follow the law but the way the case has been presented. And remember
to make a decision that looks more like a decision by a mediator who is the
one to decide the cases to keep both parties happy.
2002: Memon Corporation Inc. Vs Baskin
Robbins/ Allied Domecq QSR
US District Court of Southern District of
Texas
Case # CA H-03-1944
This case was filed against franchiser
Baskin Robbins. They did not allow us to change the franchise store location
from one place to another because the landlord did not renew our lease.
Conjecture has been that Baskin Robbins co-conspired with the landlord to
get us out of business. This has been one of our worst investments as this
franchise, being small, has a very little return but too many expectations
from the franchisee. Initially this case was filed in a District court and
the defendant got it transferred to the Federal Court. As I was representing
the corporation, I was told by my attorney to withdraw from the case. As I
had not asked for a jury trial, a new case could be filed. I made the motion
in front of the judge asking to dismiss the case without prejudices so that
I could file this case later. However, the judge was unfair and dismissed
our case completely. We appealed to the Texas Supreme Court and win the
ruling and subsequently the judge approved our demand to dismiss the case
without any prejudices. A new case is being prepared by an attorney to file
it against them on the federal level with a jury to make the decision.
Conclusion: After so many fights, I have
come to the conclusion that it has become practically impossible to file and
successfully fight your case without an experienced Attorney. Also
minorities like us have another disadvantage: judges who are mostly Anglos
throw out motions and support their kind of attorneys. One thing else, most
of the legal firms feed these judges with political monies and at the end of
the day they buy out the justice and poor people like us stay behind. I wish
the judiciary would be impartial; the government should hire judges rather
than get them elected through a political process where these judges have to
return favors for the big monies received in the form of legal donations.
1995: Memon Corporation Inc.
Vs
Baskin Robbins/ Allied Domecq QSR
US District Court of Southern District of
Texas
Case # CA # 95-4332
Some time in 1991, I financed to build a
Baskin Robbins for my brother to settle him down in USA. During the
negotiations of the franchise agreement with Baskin Robbins, we were given
several financial models of sales and profitability of the business.
According to the federal rules, the franchiser had given us a list of
litigations and their future plans. We opened the store in August 1991 and
were doing excellent until the January of 1992. This time around, Baskin
Robbins franchiser opened thirty-two corporate stores inside all Harris
county Denny’s Restaurants. There were about thirty stores in Harris County
and bringing another 32 stores in town resulted in a cut down of everybody’s
sales. We sued the franchiser for deceptive trade practice. As they were
doing this negotiation with Denny’s at the time, they signed the agreements
with us. During the negotiations they offered to settle the matter for $
100,000; whereas, we had demanded the full refund of the cost of the store
plus attorney’s fees amounting to $ 200,000. This was a case where I have a
strong suspicion that my attorney was bought out by the defendant: just two
days before the trial, he refused to represent me. I had to hire another
attorney but the case was tossed out of the court. We spend $ 10,000 to file
an appeal on the decision to get a new trial but it was rejected by the 5th
Circuit Court in New Orleans. More to come was that a judgment us was issued
against us for the attorney fees amounting $ 36,289.09 out of which they
could recover a few thousand dollars when they hit the company account
through the constables office. Luckily, there was no judgement against us
personally and we escaped from this major loss.
Conclusion: In my all business litigations,
this case is of unique nature in which my attorney deceived me in the middle
of a very strong case. Unfortunately, for a small-scale businessman, this is
a sour dilemma as how to hire proper legal help. In this case the
interesting thing that happened was Baskin Robbins closed all the 32 stores
in Denny’s restaurants just immediately after the decision of this case,
most probably fearing more lawsuits. If I had hired an honest attorney, I
would have got my losses recovered. Baskin Robbins took a loss of 3 million
dollars for opening of those stores. The beneficiaries were the local
storeowners who were asked to join the case to certify it as a class action
but no one came forward. Common businessmen avoid litigation, as their focus
is to make money not to protect their interests. I, on the other hand, have
been fighting with a system in which sometimes I have won but sometimes have
lost too. This case was a win for others but a loss for my cause. Due to
this litigation eventually I had to close the store and my case against
Baskin Robbins is still pending in the US District court and if I am lucky I
might be able to save my investment. I filed a case against the attorney and
reported him to the Texas Bar Association but it did not help much except it
might have left a scar on the Attorney’s credit with the Bar. Unfortunately,
there are so many attorneys in the market that it is very hard to rightfully
select someone who can represent you better than the others. Looking for an
attorney is like looking for a wife since you never know who you get stuck
with.
2001: Rakib Memon and Sana Memon Vs BMW of
North America Inc.
Docket # 01-0799 CAF and 1-0798 CAF
Lemon Law Complaint filed with the Texas
Department of Transportation
On May 14, 1998, I purchased two new BMW
cars for my two children. In a span of 36 months, both of these cars were
sent for repairs 14 times for one car and 11 times for the other. The major
defect in the cars was loss of battery power. If the cars were driven every
day, they stayed powered, otherwise they needed a jump-start. The dealer
could not diagnose the problem after so many repair orders. The cars were in
the shop for weeks.
Eventually a Lemon Law complaint was filed
against the BMW of North America. Interestingly, the defendant did not show
up in the hearings and the Texas Department of Transportation (TDT) Judge
showed his inability to pursue the defendant to take care of this problem.
The administrative judge issued a final order denying the relief on October
30th, 2001 giving an option to make a motion for rehearing the
case.
Conclusion: TDT judges handling Lemon Law
cases do not have any legal power to enforce the parties to sit on at the
table. So how can one expect enforcement of their decision? The best
approach in such cases is to file the case against the dealer and
manufacturer in the District Court through an experienced attorney.
Similarly, in 1985, I had purchased a Chevy
S-10 pick up. The transmission of this pick up failed three times in one
year. My attorney K. Walji sent a letter to the GMAC and they offered to
give me a new pickup or to keep the existing one without paying any more
payments. Interestingly I chose to keep the pick up, and I spent three
hundred dollars on a transmission and drove more than 150 thousand miles on
the vehicle. My mistake in this case was not to retain an experienced
attorney.
1998: Memon Corporation Inc. Vs Blimpie
International Inc. Houston
Case # 98-45685
District Court of Harris County, 125th,
Judicial District
When I was planning to start a Chevron
store, a new trend hit the convenience store market. I signed up a supply
contract with a sandwich franchise named Blimpie. The product was better
than Subway but poor franchise support and bureaucratic style of their staff
made it difficult to keep the business on the winning track in any of its
locations. At the end of the day, most of these stores closed and many
people lost capital ranging from $ 35,000 to $ 100,000. At the time of
signing up the franchise, the company gave numerous falsified information
and based on this I sued them in District Court.
After the case came into trial, it was found
out that per our franchise agreements, we could not sue the company.
However, I could file an arbitration request with the American Arbitration
Association. This association charges $ 850.00 to meet with you and help you
resolve matters. However, you have to travel to the location where the main
office of your franchisee is situated which in this case was in Atlanta. Due
to my several business commitments I decided not to pursue a case out of
state where I had no hope to collect anything from the franchiser. In the
end I closed the Blimpie shop, sold the equipment for approximately $ 10,000
and sustained a net loss of $ 25,000, plus the loss of time and effort.
Conclusion: Always get an attorney to look
into your lease and franchise agreements. Most inexperienced businessmen
lose their life’s savings just because there is usually something printed on
a very small print that escaped their eye and under which they could not sue
them. Most of the franchisers have smart attorneys representing them and
they prepare such documents with no recourse for you to fight in the court.
This was a classical example that this company opened a dozen of stores in
the Houston area, and none of them lasted. However, the franchiser still
walked away free of any liability. Also, this was a very good example of
mismanaged companies, which even with excellent product could not stay in
business due to bad management.
Rakib Enterprises Inc.
DBA Dairy Queen Vs City Manager, City of
Deer Park
Court of Justice of Peace, PCT 8 Pos. 2
Harris County, Texas
Case # 53206
This was a case in which the city of Deer
Park overcharged a water bill. During construction, city employees damaged a
water meter and caused loss of water that was billed to the store. After so
much correspondence with the city, mayor, and state representatives, no
response was prompted. Finally, a small claim was filed against the city.
The judge tossed out the case mainly due to personal relations with the city
attorney who represented the City of Deer Park. The plaintiff was refused a
fair trial and we did not pursue it with political and business reasons
being on the backstage.
Conclusion: Until you are highly politically
connected, never sue city officials. They can make your life difficult. I
learned this lesson and with the passage of time, I established good
relationships with city officials. This finally proved to be a better
strategy than fighting in courts.
1999: Rakib Enterprises Inc. Vs John Cook
Corporation
Case # SC81C0001415
Court of Justice of Peace PCT 8 Pos 1
Harris county, Texas
In February 1999, I ordered a dipping
cabinet for an amount of $ 3,991.00 from a company in Wisconsin. After the
installation of the freezer cabinet, its compressor failed within two weeks
of operation. The manufacturer was informed and they sent a new compressor
that also failed within thirty days. It was therefore decided to ship the
unit back to the manufacturer and request for a full refund. However, the
seller refunded part of the payment and refused to pay the balance.
Henceforward, a case was filed and a judgment was granted for $ 1552.76 plus
the court cost.
Conclusion: The hard part was to get the
judgment executed as it was out of state identity. The procedure to follow
is to get a writ of execution prepared by the JP Court after thirty days of
final judgment. Find the constable in the closest prescient where the
defendant lives and call his office first to make sure the writ is
executable. It is easy to execute a judgment on a business than an
individual as they have many ways to escape.
1993: Rakib Enterprises Inc.
Vs Nancy D. Gawlik DBA Hobby Travel Agency
Case# 00020864
Court of Justice of the Peace PCT 2 Pos 2,
Harris County, Texas
On February 21, 1993 Rakib Enterprises Inc.
entered into a sales agreement to sell Hobby Travel Agency to Nancy D.
Gawlik. The total price was $ 15,000 payable in three installments. The
buyer paid two installments and did not pay the balance of $ 5,000. This
cause was filed against the buyer and a judgment was rendered in favor of
Rakib Enterprises Inc. on August 4, 1994. Just after the judgment the
defendant filed a bankruptcy Ch. 13. For the last ten years no money was
assigned to our judgment due to unsecured debt and the defendant went clear
without paying a dime.
Conclusion: Never sell a good business on
installment basis. Try to give an incentive to the buyer by reducing the
sale price so that the buyer can search for other resources to acquire cash
rather than use your cash. This way if he or she fails in running the
business, you do not lose the balance owed to you. If you have a judgment
against you, make sure those personal assets are separated and secured. As
soon as the judgment is rendered, you have to file for an abstract of
judgment. Once you put the lien on the property, you can get some of the
personal assets auctioned through a constable’s sale. However, one has to go
along with an experienced lawyer to get your judgment paid. Smart people get
out of civil judgments without paying a dime.
Rentrack Corporation Inc. Vs Rakib
Enterprises Inc.
County Civil Court at Law 1
Case # 643711
While owning Prime Time Video, our company
signed up with another company a profit sharing plan based on the supply of
the videos from them. As this company was supporting only a few movie
studios – and this misled us -- we had to purchase the movies at prime
price. We stopped doing business with them and withheld their payments due
to them. They wanted to collect $ 24,333 from us. After a few hearings and
discussions, they mutually agreed to settle the case for a payment of $ 4400
with a monthly installment plan.
Conclusion: Never get harassed by big
companies. Generally you have a better chance to settle the matter with them
if you show you are self-sufficient. In this case I spend $ 500 for an
attorney who negotiated with the company for a debt of $ 24,333 for $ 4,400
which was also paid on a monthly installment plan. Key to any case is to
keep a good record of correspondence with the people you are doing business.
Unfortunately, American society is based on litigation and everyone likes to
sue other people for financial gain. So if you are a good businessman, make
sure to get all of your contracts, lease documents and sale agreements
checked out by an attorney. This might cost you a little up front but can
save you thousands in the long run.
1998 Rakib Enterprises Inc. Memon
Corporation Inc. Vs
George Dana, Attorney at Law, Wayne Paris,
Attorney at Law
Case # 98-02073
District Court of Harris County 125th
Judicial District
The law firm of George Dana was pursuing a
case against Baskin Robins franchiser for opening 32 stores in a local
Denny’s restaurant without informing existing franchisees and providing
false sales figures and overcharging equipment supplied by them at the time
of opening the store. Just two days before the trial, Mr. Dana called and
told me that he was not suitable to represent me in a District Court. He
said to me that I should find another attorney to represent me in this case.
This was a classic example of professional misconduct on part of him by
walking out of the case two days before the trial. This was an emergency and
I had to retain another attorney who could not prepare the case and we lost
the case. Attorney misconduct was reported to the Texas Bar Association but
no action was taken. The new attorney Wayne Paris also sucked $ 10,000 in
fees and just played along with the loss of appeal. His performance was also
substandard and doubtful.
Conclusion: In this case the system did not
work. There is no recourse for a client when an attorney messes up.
Generally, attorneys do not want to take a case against their fellow
profession-mate. There should be some law like medical mal-practice under
which the clients can sue the attorneys for negligence and recover their
losses. In this case the defendant had offered a settlement but little on
the lower side and a smart attorney could have got a better settlement. On
the surface it seems that my attorney was bought out by the defendant and
successfully avoided settle the matter.
1998: Rakib Enterprises Inc.Vs Ingram
Entertainment Inc.
Court of Justice of Peace PCT 2, Pos 2,
Harris County, Texas
Case # C00023038
In 1998, I closed Prime Time Video and
contacted Ingram Entertainment Inc., our supplier of the video movies, to
check if they would purchase the movie stock. We agreed a unit price and one
of their representatives visited the store. He checked all the movies before
we shipped the movies to the warehouse. In the process, their company made a
deposit of $ 10,000 and the balance was supposed to be paid upon receiving
the movies. However, after receiving the movies, they started with different
excuses not to pay us the balance. We requested them to ship our movies
back, by this time they had already sold so many of our movies. Finally, we
filed a small claim against them in which we were awarded with a judgement
for $ 1474.57. Later on they filed an appeal and during the appeal they
finally negotiated to settle to pay the amount.
Conclusion: Though we fought this case in
the JP court without an attorney, once it got filed in civil court, it had
to be represented by an attorney. You can only represent prose if filed as
an individual but as a corporation you have to be represented by an
attorney. I got the judgement paid but had to pay $ 500 for attorney fees.
To reach behind the curtain, I lost this amount because the defendant tried
to defraud me whereas they also had to pay an attorney. To my critical eye,
such claims should be settled mutually rather than getting attorneys
involved since it becomes cost-inefficient for both parties.
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