1. Story for Pinoy Insider
We Paid Attorney Beirne, He Did Nothing, and Our Home was Foreclosed | Luchie
Mendoza Allen
A legal malpractice lawsuit filed against bankruptcy Attorney James Beirne alleges that
his office was retained to file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy to protect a hard working Filipino
family’s home, but Beirne never filed the bankruptcy petition and the Filipinos lost their
home, even though Attorney Bierne was paid almost $8,000 to protect it.
“I just want warn other Filipinos about our legal nightmare with Attorney James Beirne’s
law office,” Plaintiff Janet Duldulao, originally from Vintar, Illocos Northe, said in
explaining that she is still so upset after losing her home, through no fault of her own, in
September of 2009.
The lawsuit filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court alleges that Diosdado ‘Gieldy’
Duldulao, originally from Piddig, Illocos Northe, first hired Attorney Beirne’s office in
November 2008 for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy and ‘lien stripping,’ a term commonly
referred to as eliminating a second mortgage on a residence. The lawsuit alleges that
Attorney Beirne’s advertising guaranteed that “WE WILL help you keep your home,”
and that “all services are supervised by an attorney.” Beirne even sent a letter stating that
“every decision concerning your case and every document related to your case will be
personally reviewed by me.” The lawsuit has many allegations of fraudulent advertising
against the Bierne law office, which advertises only in Weekend Balita. It has been long
rumored that the non-lawyer owners of Weekend Balita also own the law firm.
However, the bankruptcy case languished in Attorney Beirne’s law office, even thought
the Duldulaos made frequent inquires, the lawsuit alleges, and were constantly told by
Ruby Sexon, a ‘consultant’, that the case was going well. However, in reality, Attorney
Beirne’s office had never filed the bankruptcy petition that would have saved the
Duldulao family home.
The lawsuit alleges that even after receiving notices about a pending foreclosure, and
sending them to Beirne’s office, the law firm still failed to file the bankruptcy petition
that they had paid almost $8000 for. The lawsuit alleges that non-lawyer Ruby Sexon
continued to assure the Duldulaos that everything was ok.
Then the foreclosure sale notice came.
The lawsuit alleges that the Duldulaos immediately called Ruby Sexon, who refused to
even provide an appointment with Attorney Beirne. The Duldulaos went to the office
anyway and forced a meeting. “Until that time,” Gieldy Duldulao said, “I never even got
to talk to an attorney.”

2. Attorney Beirne told the Duldulaos “You have to get over this and just move.”
This legal malpractice case is particularly sad, as the Duldulaos’ son’s school was across
the street, and his uncle lived next door. They are now forced to live in a rented
apartment instead of owing their own home.
Calls to Attorney Beirne to comment on this story went unanswered. The Duldulaos are
represented by Attorney Joel Bander, who stated that he did not want to elaborate beyond
court filings, as the case is still in the early discovery stages.
Attorney Bander had previously testified in a federal bankruptcy proceeding that the
Beirne law office was owned by non-lawyers Luchie Mendoza and her husband, Anthony
Allen.
“We just want the Filpino community to be aware that Attorney Beirne’s office was
taking advantage of people like us, and instead of helping us, made our lives miserable,”
Janet Duldulao said. She concluded “I don’t want other Filipinos go through what we
went thru. It might happen to them what happened to us.”
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rhony laigo, joel bander law, bander law firm, janet duldulao, diosdado duldulao, ruby
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