Clients have been left high and dry after their attorney was suspended four months ago.
When Garold Wiseman made the decision to file a discriminatory lawsuit against his employer, he contacted a friend who recommended Andy Allman, an attorney out of Hendersonville who specializes in cases like his. That was back in 2012.
"You never ever really get a hold of him and time goes by," said Wiseman.
It's been nearly five years and Wiseman's case is still pending, his bank account is short $4,500.
"I didn't know he was leading me on," Wiseman said. "He takes cases and he lets the statue run out."
In September, 2016 Allman was suspended from practicing law. Within a few weeks, Wiseman got the notice and contacted Allman for answers.
Their last conversation was in November. "He was acting like everything was still going to happen because that's what I asked him," Wiseman said.
With a looming court date and no attorney, Wiseman began searching for help. "It's been hard trying to find somebody who will step in to represent me," he said.
The chief counsel with the Board of Professional Responsibility said there are 17 complaints included in formal charges against Allman.
To prevent going through a situation like Wiseman, she recommended checking an attorney's discipline history on the board's website.
For Wiseman, it's been a hard lesson learned a little too late as he closes his case with Allman, but he knew there were others. "He just left me. He left them also," he said.
Allman released the following statement:
“We have worked diligently to notify all of my clients of my temporary status either by letter, email or telephone. My staff and I have spent hundreds of hours and made every effort to ensure that each affected person has representation and that their case files have been transitioned accordingly or we have provided them their files to provide to their counsel of choice. Given the size of my practice it has, and will, take some time to finalize the process. Mr. Powers has been charged with assisting those clients that have not yet retained alternate representation or that we have not heard back from. In the meantime, I look forward to challenging the false claims made against me and getting this process behind me.”
Sumner County has appointed Dennis Powers as Allman's receiver, which means he'll now be in charge on contacting all of Allman's clients, which remains an unknown amount.
