CHARLESTON – A Mount Carbon couple has filed a lawsuit accusing a Charleston attorney and his law firm of legal malpractice.
Robert and Erica Cervera filed their complaint in Kanawha Circuit Court against Trent Redman and Redman & Payne PLLC.
According to the complaint, the couple hired Redman and his firm to represent them after water or sewer lines belonging to the Armstrong Creek Public Service District and others flooded their property and home in 2011.
Redman
They say Redman and his firm prepared a complaint in June 2012 naming the City of Mount Carbon, the Armstrong Creek PSD and the Kanawha Falls PSD as defendants seeking damages.
But, the Cerveras say the complaint never was filed. They say they didn’t learn the lawsuit wasn’t filed until June 2018. The statute of limitations for their damage claim had passed.
They say the defendants’ failing to file the claim has led to the spoliation of evidence making it “difficult, if not impossible, for plaintiffs to now prove their claims as to the liability of those responsible for the damages to their home and the extent of those damages.”
The plaintiffs seek compensatory damages.
Redman and the firm did not return messages seeking comment. According to court records, Redman or his firm have been named as defendants in at least 10 lawsuits since 2002.
The plaintiffs are being represented by Charleston attorney James M. Barber. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Joanna Tabit.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 20-C-359
