CHARLESTON - A Charleston couple is suing a member of the West Virginia Workers' Compensation Board of Review, claiming he did not adequately represent them during the eight years he handled a civil case against them.
Terrance and Sandra Shrewsbury name Robert G. Wolpert in a lawsuit filed May 5 in Kanawha Circuit Court.
They claim that Wolpert failed to timely remove a Lis Pendens from their property, which was filed by a construction company regarding a contract dispute in 1996.
The Lis Pendens kept the Shrewsburys from being able to switch their construction loan to a standard residential mortgage.
They claim they paid $44,976.04 worth of interest on an $80,000 loan because the Lis Pendens was allowed to stay on their property during the entire eight-year legal action.
The complaint says that Wolper failed to move for a hearing for final resolution as to removal of the Lis Pendens and failed to move to dismiss the action, even during periods of inactivity.
Beth R. Minear of Charleston law firm Minear and Associates is representing the Shrewsburys.
In 2003, they say Wolpert notified them he was leaving private practice, though the action against them remained pending. The next year, after obtaining new counsel, the matter was settled.
The Shrewsburys add that the company remarked to them that the final settlement amount was similar to one they had offered years earlier to Wolpert. They claim to have never been informed of that offer.
They charge Wolpert with breach of contract and negligence.
Judge Jennifer Bailey Walker has been assigned the case.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 06-C-844
Lawyer being sued for malpractice
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