Thursday, April 29, 2004
Lawyers are the losers in the Holiday from Hell
Eva Kolavo, from Sylvania, New South Wales (Australia) was told by the NSW Court of Appeal the "distress, discomfort, disappointment and inconvenience" caused by the poor advice of her barrister was worth $11,000. But she is now pressing on with further claims she says are worth $426,000.
The story began when Eva booked a vacation to Spain back in 1996, and was paired up with an American woman for the accomodations. The American was not a good roommate, and one disagreement turned into a physical struggle with the American biting Ms. Kolavo's finger.
Back in Sydney, two lawyers told Ms. Kolavo that she could sue the travel agency for not ensuring the compatibility of her travel companion. But a judge took a dim view of Ms. Kolavo's testimony and dismissed the case. Later, she found out that her lawyers should have advised her that she would never have won the case. It cost her $11,000 for the lawyers services to lose.
A Court of Appeal has ruled in favor of Ms. Kolavo, saying that she should have not been in court at all with this case, and found for her, charging her lawyers with the $11,000 plus $31,000 in costs as a loser in the first trial. She is now pressing for $426,000 in damages from her lawyers, calling them "bunglers" and having to see a property to pay them the first time. She said, "They said I was never going to be believed, but I wouldn't have known [the case was hopeless] if I wasn't in court for the verdict."
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The story began when Eva booked a vacation to Spain back in 1996, and was paired up with an American woman for the accomodations. The American was not a good roommate, and one disagreement turned into a physical struggle with the American biting Ms. Kolavo's finger.
Back in Sydney, two lawyers told Ms. Kolavo that she could sue the travel agency for not ensuring the compatibility of her travel companion. But a judge took a dim view of Ms. Kolavo's testimony and dismissed the case. Later, she found out that her lawyers should have advised her that she would never have won the case. It cost her $11,000 for the lawyers services to lose.
A Court of Appeal has ruled in favor of Ms. Kolavo, saying that she should have not been in court at all with this case, and found for her, charging her lawyers with the $11,000 plus $31,000 in costs as a loser in the first trial. She is now pressing for $426,000 in damages from her lawyers, calling them "bunglers" and having to see a property to pay them the first time. She said, "They said I was never going to be believed, but I wouldn't have known [the case was hopeless] if I wasn't in court for the verdict."
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