Thank you so much for taking the initiative to order these and I will definitely be looking for my own copy as I want to truly know what the Judge said opposed to the selective "Coles Notes" version we get from any Counsel who participated.
Related to past documentation, many people have requested missing documentation from Michael Geldert to review in preparation for the May court date either via their new Counsel or are taking the initiative to self litigate because there is new hope to continue which should be of great concern to Northmont who have lost their puppet's ability to control his X-clients.
Given there are rules a divorced lawyer is supposed to be adhering to when a client transitions away Michael is grievously failing to meet his Code of Conduct as a lawyer in this area and should be realizing by now complaints have and continue to be filed with the Law Society which he must think is a joke and that the Law Society has no teeth.
If that doesn't matter maybe the realization he is in the cross hairs himself to be sued which should be of great concern to Northmont and any lawyers he has worked with on this case as discovery tends to bring out the worst or best in people depending on what they are hiding or want to share - hope he has let his insurance company know as other people already have and they are the ones who will be on the hook to settle any proven malpractice claims!!
People have been told they cannot have missing documentation because possibly they didn't pay a retainer or Michael is using the BS the info is privileged - well that's BS based on our retainer agreement and the way the system works. What should have been happening, as does in any other regular group client litigation, is we should have been receiving every piece of documentation as it came available as it is our litigation not his which would have kept us properly informed and we could have identified his deceptions sooner. All I see now is that he was trying to hide things and control narrative in hindsight so we only see what he wants us to see instead of what is truly occurring - even today he is still desperately trying to control our destinies and limit the information to either keep us dependent on him or he needs to protect himself or Northmont from us learning the entire truth.
Now the question that keeps popping up in my mind is "Who is Michael Geldert really working for, protecting, and representing?" as it is very hard to figure out as it isn't me.
All I can say is keep asking and when he wants to talk with you record the call - the more evidence he provides creates a stronger malpractice claim.
Not sure how the new facts based, people friendly Judge will see this in May when we are forced to ask for a continuance given we failed to get prepare - guess it will depend on how our answer is present to him - sure doesn't sound like present Counsels posturing and objections are going to work either from the plaintiff or defendant sides.
Maybe this new Judge will be willing to provide a court order for us to secure the documentation and further allow for a court sanctioned injunction against Northmont to put a hold on the Option 1 settlement funds as long as this remains in front of the courts given the circumstances related to the binding of the Option 1 people might be viewed as being fraudulently obtained given it was an only Michael negotiated settlement agreement (FYI - consent was far from mutual on our end as we were misrepresented by Michael but given this looks like a backroom deal with no 3rd party neutrality present to dispute this had occurred or settlement minutes available it will easily be made to look bad for both parties in this "negotiation" if we are still calling it that).
Getting back to the missing documentation - what we received all along has been selective so it begs to be questioned "why". Even now Michael is trying to control the flow of information even after the divorce and we only expect what we are entitled to that has already been paid for which is governed by every lawyers Code of Conduct. Moving forward people are smart enough to procure future court documents and as proof can acquire our own transcripts like these ones for things moving forward after the divorce and we are beyond Michael's false cheers to boast his ego and suck more money from us.
Moving forward we all need to put the pressure on Michael Geldert for a full detailed reconciliation of the millions of dollars that made up the trust fund account from day 1. As part of the reconciliation it needs to separately identify Michael's and Barry King's work related to the Option 2 group versus what the Option 1 group needed to pay for along with any past due accounts recognized as part of the Geldert receivables associated with the trust (why should anyone who has paid be subsidizing individuals or group services for someone who has not paid for them but continued to received the benefits of the services - this is Michael's problem to differentiate and proportionately bill each of his represented clients properly not mine).
Group 1 members should expect a refund of unused trust funds which should be plentiful given Michael's $500 retainer request in May of 2017 for funds that were to be allocated for settlement costs and the additional funds secured in the Settlement Agreement should have given him a budget just shy of $1 million.
Not our fault he created a very distinct divide in the way he now uniquely has to represent independent groups he finalized creating on December 29th which become a huge conflict of interest for all involved. This resulting circus (mess) Michael and Barry King continue to move forward with is not payable by either Option group as Option 1 people are out and Option 2 people didn't sign their own new retainer agreement asking for it to be done this way . Anyone who still wants Michael's service would need to pay their own way with him or Barry King as there cannot be a conflict of interest which would be created using the money from the original trust account to pay for individual services beyond the required documentation, processing the Option 1 settlement, or payment of past collective invoices. This might have worked if he stuck to the all or nothing relationship moving forward introduced as part of the SIF he buried us with so why is he still allowed to rack up the costs and be a demi lawyer to all - Michael should have been prepared to allow Option 2 people to move on in November / December and given them everything required but here we are months later and nothing but
or an option to a few Option 2 people to have to pay for things moving forward.
No group should be compensating for work done for another group or individual unless it is of benefit equally to the entire group if the cost is tied back to the original trust fund to pay for services. If something is being provided from Geldert it needs to be to all especially if the cost is being picked up from the $250 extorted from each of the Option 1 members in the negotiated settlement as these funds are not there for Michael to use to go up going down his rabbit hole or to cover his own butt moving forward.
Although, good luck collecting from any of the Option 2 group of people in default though - they kicked Geldert's butt to the curb or Geldert kicked theirs but there is no going back on these actions so welcome to the world of pro bono (denoting work undertaken without charge by an attorney) and I bet other lawyers you continue to hide behind who are also stuck in your rabbit hole want to be paid from the pro bono funds you are collecting.
I think this pretty much summarizes any future relationship with Michael and gang - we are done with you and the only thing left is when and how much money each of us sue our former Counsel for related to their incompetence and deception (take your pick or pick both). Pretty sure when all Michael's lawyer buddies share a place as a listed participant on a notice of claim they will want bury Michael in his hole and will be very willing to provide documentation to drop them at the curb but can you imagine a 1000 of these over the next couple of years and the time it will take to get through this instead of making money - hence the reason for everyone to work together to either group of preferably self litigate (we saw how easy things got for lawyers to have us all squished through Jeke - so we are not to old learn from our mistakes, will Michael learn from his? - I sure hope not).
It's not even to expensive to get started:
http://www.self-counsel.com/representing-yourself-in-court-can.html
I can only imagine Northmont is very concerned this entire thing is about to explode and are probably concerned what is out there to throw them under the bus to save one's butt especially now that there is a chance for a real appeal with the new evidence Northmont provided us all on February 1st.
Man, I hope this doesn't screw up anyone's bonuses or professional accreditations
