Complaint Review: Douglas M Gierhart

Douglas Gierhart has been my attorney and I have paid him in excess of $10,000 for his legal expertise, despite his many indiscretions that I have overlooked.  My case was too extensive for me to fire him and get new counsel.  I had to stay on top of things constantly and check each monthly statement.  Whenever I challenged him on a charge, it was corrected, but I had a garnishment of nearly $800 that he tried to keep.  It was only showing proof of the garnishee's pay statement that my money was given to me, but after 6 months later.  This attorney charged me for a private processor but the papers were never filed in court that they were served and contempt charges were never followed up on till after over one year.  I discharged him as my attorney in December 2009.

I sought his service in July 2011 on guardianship issues.  I have legal guardianship of my granddaughter and the mother was making it difficult for myself to abide by the court order.  I addressed my concerns to Mr. Gierhart, which for $1000, outlined the course of action.  After leaving my consultation visit, I had second thoughts about this and called the following day to cancel his service. My visit was for an hour and I was expecting to pay for this but Mr. Gierhart proceeded to charge an additional hour for reviewing emails which I initiated in asking for a refund.  He stated that as my attorney, that an accounting had to be done on my guardianship which is not true.  My guardianship papers are permanent and no such accounting has to be done but Mr. Gierhart said it had to be done.

I filed a grievance with the Oklahoma Bar Association because after 3 months,  I finally received a refund, but besides the $200 for the 1 hour consultation visit, I was charged $200 for his reviewing emails.  These emails were inquiry about my cancellation and refund.  In his reply to the Bar Association, he stated that he spoke with me and his advice and this also contributed to his charge as telephone consultation.  I never spoke with him and then he claims he never handled a successful garnishment on my behalf.  He could not come up with the documents to prove that claim.  The documents he had to justify anything were supplied by me because I entered them in my grievance.

The Bar Association was satisfied with his statement of lies and the matter was closed.  I filed suit in small claims court and was totally bullied in court by his attorney and the judge.  Can you believe that?  I sued for $200 and this officer of the court does not accept his registered mail, so then I have to have him served by a process server and the judge, even after stating that my emails show I cancelled, awards the judgement to the defendant.  I did a thorough research on this guy and the things I uncovered are unbelievable.  Douglas Gierhart has filed bankruptcy twice.  He has changed locations and associates 5 times since 2006.  He was sued in small claims but the registered mail was undeliverable, but this was listed as a creditor in his bankruptcy.  The lawyer who defended him in my small claim suit for $200 is his brother in law and I have discovered that they were involved in a case that appears to be a conflict of interest.  You have one representing a plaintiff and the other representing the defendant and there's a default judgement in the case.  I see this as highly suspicious as a conflict of interest.

I filed a motion to vacate in my case but the judge denied it.  I think maybe the judge had doubts about his decision, but he cannot lose face and reverse.  I was really bullied in that courtroom, and I think the judge was disgusted with the defendant and his brother in law attorney.  He had the gall to ask for attorney fees, which by law the judge can give 10%, which would have been $20.  But he asked for $600, which the judge replied to submit and pay the court fee.  I interpreted this as disgusting by the judge.

I am so totally disgusted with this snake.  I have filed a second grievance with the Oklahoma Bar Association, just to correct the first one.  I should have based my grievance on fraud instead of billing improprieties, but the Bar Association has denied to open a case on this.  They are there to police their own, but how can an entity that make the laws to protect them ONLY, make themselves accountable to themselves.  That judge looked favorable to his own instead of being fair.  I am a Christian and treat others as I would want to be treated.  Mr. Gierhart professes to be a Christian and I have friends who attend his church, and they are not surprised by his money problems.  I now compare lawyers as car salesman and distrust them.  I do my own legal research and I believe more people are resorting to doing the same and no longer have a need for a lawyer.  I think there is an excess of lawyers and they are all competing, ambulance chasers for that sucker that they can drain.  I think Mr. Gierhart is to be commended for his behavior because he has given me the knowledge and has possibly harmed his reputation.  I can only conclude that he needed the $200 more than I did, he did delay my refund because of being out of the country.

In conclusion, I know in my heart and soul, everything stated here is the truth.  It just sickens me the lies given in his statement to the Bar Association and the lies in court by Douglas Gierhart and his brother in law attorney.  Just blatant lies and I will not have to account to God for my actions in this matter.  I don't know how this guy can sleep at night.  They really do have a racket going on, you cannot report unethical behavior and they get away with screwing you.  Like I said, they make the laws to protect themselves only.