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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-3035WAYNE F. SHADE, : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS 4F Plaintiff : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYL!?%Nlgi CIVIL ACTION -LAW ' NO. 12 - ,303,x' CIVIL TEl TRAVIS L. MELLINGER, w. Defendant tea:; NOTICE You have been sued in Court. If you wish to defend against the claims set forth in the following pages, you must take action within twenty (20) days after this Complaint and Notice are served, by entering a written appearance personally or by attorney and filing in writing with the Court your defenses or objections to the claims set forth against you. You are warned that if you fail to do so the case may proceed without you and a judgment may be entered against you by the Court without further notice for any money claimed in the Complaint or for any other claim of relief requested by the Plaintiff. You may lose money or property or other rights important to you. YOU SHOULD TAKE THIS PAPER TO YOUR LAWYER AT ONCE. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A LAWYER OR CANNOT AFFORD ONE, GO TO OR TELEPHONE THE OFFICE SET FORTH BELOW TO FIND OUT WHERE YOU CAN GET LEGAL HELP. THIS OFFICE CAN PROVIDE YOU WITH INFORMATION ABOUT HIRING A LAWYER. IF YOU CANNOT AFFORD TO HIRE A LAWYER, THIS OFFICE MAY BE ABLE TO PROVIDE YOU WITH INFORMATION ABOUT AGENCIES THAT MAY OFFER LEGAL SERVICES TO ELIGIBLE PERSONS AT A REDUCED FEE OR NO FEE. Cumberland County Bar Association 32 South Bedford Street Carlisle, Pennsylvania 17013 Telephone: (717) 249-3166 Wayne . Shade, Esquire Supreme Court No. 15712 53 West Pomfret Street Carlisle, Pennsylvania 17013 `S Telephone: 717-243-0220 103 r75__PC//6 Attorney for Plaintiff 17V 31q P#a7s1?3 WAYNE F. SHADE, : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF Plaintiff CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA CIVIL ACTION -LAW V. NO. 12 - CIVIL TERM TRAVIS L. MELLINGER, Defendant COMPLAINT 1. Plaintiff WAYNE F. SHADE is an adult individual who has at all times pertinent hereto been duly licensed in the practice of law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and whose offices are currently located at 53 West Pomfret Street, Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania 17013. 2. Defendant TRAVIS L. MELLINGER is an adult individual whose last known address is 166 Spruce Hollow Road, Middleburg, Snyder County, Pennsylvania 17842. 3. On March 19, 2008, Defendant entered into a written fee agreement with Plaintiff for legal representation in connection with Defendant's domestic relations proceedings. A copy of said agreement is attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference as though fully set forth. 4. On August 26, 2008, Plaintiff sent a statement for services to Defendant for services from May 19, 2008, through August 23, 2008, in the amount of $12,528. 5. Defendant's retainer in the amount of $5,000 was applied to the statement, leaving a balance due of $7,528. 6. Plaintiff has repeatedly demanded payment of his counsel fees, but Defendant has refused to pay them. WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands judgment against Defendant in the amount of $7,528 plus costs, legal fees, and interest at the contract rate from September 25, 2008. Wayne F. Shade, Esquire Supreme Court No. 15712 53 West Pomfret Street Carlisle, Pennsylvania 17013 Telephone: 717-243-0220 Attorney for Plaintiff I verify that the statements made in the foregoing Complaint are true and correct. I understand that false statements herein are made subject to the penalties of 18 Pa.C.S. § 4904, relating to unsworn falsification to authorities. Date: May 14, 2012 - 9?z? /,- ?- Wayne . Shade WAYNE F. SHADE ATTORNEY AT LAW 53 WEST POMFRET STREET CARLISLE, PENNSYLVANIA 17013 (717) 243-0220 (800) 243-0220 aynefshadelr comcastnet February 25, 2008 Mr. Richard L. Mellinger 255 Creek Road Newvil"e, Pennsylvania 17241 Re: Mellinger v. Mellinger Dear Travis: FAX (717) 249-0017 This letter is addressed to you, although the addressee is your father in accordance with your instructions. Pennsylvania law requires that the fee arrangement between the attorney and the client be placed in writing. Therefore, this letter will confirm our discussion in this office on February 20, 2008, concerning our representation of your interests with regard to your domestic relations proceedings. We had discussed that we would defer requiring the deposit of a retainer as long as you and your wife would be continuing to live in your house. With the understanding that your wife is in the process of moving out, we are requesting a retainer in the amount of $5,000. Because of the nature of such proceedings and the possible occurrence of unforeseen complications, we are not in a position to quote a final and specific fee for our services. We will do everything possible to contain your legal fees, but we have no control over how difficult the other side will want to make this. Therefore, you should be aware that the total fees for comprehensive resolution of all of the custody, support and other economic issues could very well substantially exceed the sum of $5,000. Our fees will be billed at the rate of $225 per hour, and we will maintain time records which you may review at anytime. This hourly rate will prevail until you are notified in writing of an increase in our fees for all of our domestic relations cases. We ordinarily send bills only upon reaching significant points in your case as opposed to sending monthly bills. However, you may request an itemized bill at anytime. Wayne F. Shade, Esquire, to Mr. Richard L. Mellinger February 25, 2008 Page 2 After payment of filing fees and other expenses, the balance of your retainer will remain on deposit in a trust account until the final billing at the end of our representation. Because this office does not receive interest on money that is in the trust account, you will not receive interest on your retainer. Our bills for legal fees will not be charged against your retainer untii the ens: of our representation. Y(.,u will need ?o pay our bills, including reimbursement for filing fees and other expenses, as they are submitted. Failure to make prompt payment of our bills will result in termination of our representation of your interests. At the end of our representation, your retainer will be applied to our final invoice. At that time, we will refund any unconsumed balance of the retainer or collect any excess charges beyond the amount of the retainer. We keep an itemized record of our conferences, telephone calls, document drafting, research, court time and travel time, if any. Our records of time expended are kept in fractions of hours with a minimum of one-tenth hour for each activity. We do not impose extra charges for long distance telephone calls, photocopying and postage for ordinary first class mail. The preparation of certain documents such as pleadings and agreements may be billed upon a flat-rate basis rather than a time-expended basis. Also, any court costs and other expenses incurred in connection with this matter, such as fees of consultants or other experts, fees in connection with depositions and the like, will be reimbursable in addition to our fees for services rendered. Although there are provisions in the law allowing you to make a claim for counsel fees against your spouse.. tiny are not oftc;n? awarded; aid it :; '? bo v e-17, unlikely that they would be awarded in this case. In the few cases that they are awarded, the awards are rarely in the full amount of the fees. Therefore, it should also be understood that our fees will not be limited by any court award of attorney fees in the case. It is further understood that, in the event of the placement of any marital assets into escrow, the escrow fund may not be distributed without payment of our then outstanding fees, costs and expenses and that the fees, costs and expenses may be collected from any marital funds to which you become entitled at any time by compromise or litigation. Balances for services beyond any amounts on deposit in this office shall accrue interest at the rate of one percent per month after thirty days from the date of the invoice. In the event that it should be necessary to initiate legal proceedings to collect any outstanding fees, court costs or other expenses, we shall be entitled to payment for the time expended Wayne F. Shade, Esquire, to Mr. Richard L. Mellinger February 25, 2008 Page 3 therefor at the rate set forth herein for counsel fees in this case. Such charges shall extend to any independent proceedings necessary to collect the charges for such time expended. If, for any reason, you would request the contents of your file at any time, there would be an expense for searching, collecting and reviewing ail of our electronic and paper records to assure that you would be receiving everything that you would be requesting and to which you would be entitled and to determine which documents would need to be duplicated and copies retained as the business records of this office. Our charges for those services would be twenty cents per page of documents that would be printed or copied. It is the policy of this office to retain client files for a period of seven years after the termination of a matter, at which time the file may be shredded. Prior to the shredding of the file, you may forward a written request for return of your file, which we will provide to you at no additional cost, provided that there are no outstanding fee obligations to this office. Upon closing of the file, this office will return to you, at your last recorded address with this office, any original documents contained in the file. Please be sure to notify this office of any change of address, even after representation has ended, so that we may communicate with you prior to final disposition of your file. If we have already returned your original documents to you and you do not choose to request return of your file prior to the shredding of the file, it will be understood that all remaining contents may be shredded, even if we are unable to contact you. Any such shredding of the file will be performed in a nanner designed to presen7c confidcntiwli ,'. We will make every effort to pursue your case diligently and effectively and to provide good advice. However, the ultimate outcome of your case will be influenced by many factors that are beyond the control of this office. Therefore, we cannot guarantee a favorable result. We will also make every effort to keep you as well informed as to the progress of your case as possible. If we are unavailable when you call, we will make every effort to return your call as quickly as possible. You are welcome to communicate with this office by.cell phone or by email at waynefshade@comcast.net. However, you must understand that cell phone and unencrypted email communications may be misdirected or intercepted. If such communications were to be misdirected or intercepted, you could lose important Wayne F. Shade, Esquire, to Mr. Richard L. Mellinger February 25, 2008 Page 4 confidentiality protections in addition to the obvious disclosure of information of importance to unauthorized third parties. We enclose two counterparts of a General Information Disclosure Authorization. As you can see, it is designed to enable us to make direct Yequests for any information which may be relevant to your case in any respect. It would be helpful to your case to sign and return the Authorization to enable us to communicate directly with all sources of information concerning the exact nature of the information that we will need to effectively advance your claims. It would also be helpful if you would not date the Authorization but that you, rather, authorize us to date copies of it whenever we need to use it. If this arrangement is in accordance with your understanding, please acknowledge your agreement in the space provided below and return this letter to our office along with your check in the amount of $5,000. You may retain the enclosed copy of the General Information Disclosure Authorization and the copy of this letter for your files. Finally, this will confirm that, although you cannot completely disinherit your spouse as long as you remain married or unless we are able to reach an agreement in which inheritance rights are waived, you should have a Last Will and Testament which would exclude your spouse, and you should revoke any Powers of Attorney which may authorize your spouse to sign your name. You should also change beneficiaries on any l lire ins?.irancc; i:d-ust rc`ur; accounts that ? .;a? ° your . c ,pouse de.,s ig r.?, ^ >;nent or other r. ; h ." ,.?uated?a.? beneficiary and which do not require your spouse's consent to the change. You should then also have a life insurance trust for your children. If you will forward copies of any documents that set forth information concerning your life insurance, we will discuss those issues the next time that we meet. Should you have any questions in any respect, please do not hesitate to call. Wayne F. Shade, Esquire, to Mr. Richard L. Mellinger February 25, 2008 Page 5 We appreciate the opportunity of representing you in these matters of importance to you; and we assure you that we will pursue your case as diligently and expeditiously as possible. Very truly yours. Wayne F. Shade WFS/cjt Enclosures Acknowledged and agreed this 'Z y day of , 2008. /'OVYd Travis L. Mellinger SHERIFF'S OFFICE OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY Ronny R Anderson Sheriff Jody S Smith Chief Deputy Richard W Stewart Solicitor at t: l:r? Frr? OF: - - ! L „%U 1;0 PCMSYLIVAHIA Wayne F Shade VS. Case Number Travis L. Mellinger 2012-3035 SHERIFF'S RETURN OF SERVICE 05/15/2012 Ronny R. Anderson, Sheriff who being duly sworn according to law states that he made a diligent search and inquiry for the within named defendant, to wit: Travis L. Mellinger, but was unable to locate him in his bailiwick. He therefore deputized the Sheriff of Snyder County, Pennsylvania to serve the within Complaint and Notice according to law. 05/25/2012 Snyder County Return: And now May 25, 2012 at 1300 hours I, Joseph S. Reigle, Jr., Sheriff of Snyder County, Pennsylvania, do hereby certify and return that I served a true copy of the within Complaint and Notice, upon the within named defendant, to wit: Travis L. Mellinger by making known unto himself personally, at 12 S. Main Street, Middleburg, Pennsylvania its contents and at the same time handing to him personally the said true and correct copy of the same. SHERIFF COST: $37.45 June 04, 2012 SO ANSWERS, RON R ANDERSON, SHERIFF (c) CountySuite Sheriff, Teleasoft, Inc. SAVED DISK # 12-3035 MISC. DKT. BOOK # 39 PAGE # 64 IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA WAYNE F. SHADE NO: 12-3035 NOTICE AND COMPLAINT VS TRAVIS L. MELLINGER AFFIDAVIT OF SERVICE AND NOW, May 25, 2012, I, Lewis F. Briggs, Deputy Sheriff for Joseph S. Reigle, Jr., Sheriff of Snyder County, Pennsylvania, being duly sworn according to law deposes and says that the above described Notice and Complaint was served upon Travis L. Mellinger, named defendant, on May 25, 2012, at 1:00 P .M., at the Snyder County Sheriffs Office, 12 S. Main St., Middleburg, Snyder County, Pennsylvania, by personally handing to Travis L. Mellinger a true and correct copy of the above described Notice and Complaint and that I made known to Travis L. Mellinger the contents of the same. SO ANSWERS JOSEPH S. REIGLE, JR., SHERIFF B SNYDER COUNTY, PA. TY EWIS F. GGS COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA COUNTY OF SNYDER SS: SWO T AND SUBSCR?I? jE?D ?BEFORE ME THI IDAY OF 2012 - ( - , 10 ou -a ?._ WTANAL CATMMM ARED NOTARY PUBLIC MI001JWRG BOROUGH R COUNTY My Corq? Mi Jul 29, 2013 DEPUTATION BY: SHERIFF OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PA. SNYDER COUNTY SHERIFF'S FEES: Docketing, Service, Etc. $ 18.00 Mileage 7.00 Notary 5.00 TOTAL: $ 30.00 Deposit: $75.00 Receipt # 12746 PAID TO COUNTY CHECK # REIMBURSED TO PETTY CASH CHECK # Refund: $45.00 Check # 8819 TRAVIS L. MELLINGER Defendant V. WAYNE F. SHADE Plaintiff : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA ' Cn CIVIL ACTION -LAW NO. 12- 303j' CIVIL TERM - cz? --, r - . r . DEFENSE 1. Defendant TRAVIS L. MELLINGER is an adult individual whose address is 166 Spruce Hollow Road, Middleburg Pa, Snyder County, 17842. 2. Plaintiff WAYNE F. SHADE is an adult individual who has at all times pertinent here to been duly licensed in the practice of law in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and whose offices are currently located at 53 West Pomfret Street, Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pa 17013. 3. Defendant does acknowledge the fee agreement from March 19, 2008 thru August 23, 2008 for the legal services of the plaintiff in divorce proceedings. 4. Where as the plaintiff was defendants attorney he is well aware that under his representation defendant lost his custody proceedings, defendant lost his house, defendant lost child support appeals and defendant also lost his retirement fund most of which went to the plaintiff from March 19, 2008 thru August 23, 2008, in the form of full payment at the time of billings. Defendant was left in financial ruin in the wake of divorce proceedings. 5. Defendant did receive final bill on August 28, 2008 from plaintiff in the amount of $12,528 which the defendants retainer was applied in the amount of $5,000 leaving a balance due of $7,528 6. From August 28; 2008 thru May 25, 2012 plaintiff has made NO CONTACT with defendant. Plaintiff has defendant's phone number which has remained the same and parents address at 255 Creek Road, Cumberland County, Newville Pa 17241, which has remained the same which all correspondence was to be sent to per contract. 7. Defendant has in the last four years had three different jobs that were lost due to economic cutbacks as a result of the recession that the country is facing and as a result is currently unemployed due to lack of work. Defendant's financial situation is grave and defendant lives paycheck to paycheck as a result. 8. Defendant is willing to make payments to plaintiff in an amount not to exceed $125 a month for the amount of $7,528. Defendant is on the verge of bankruptcy and this offer is the best he can offer. Defendant has no savings and no personal belongings to fall back on, all of which were lost in the divorce that plaintiff represented defendant in. WHEREFORE, Defendant respectfully request the court consider my offer of $125.00 a month for 60 months equaling the amount of $7,528 to satisfy the plaintiff and allow defendant to get back to a better financial situation. Travis L. Mellinger 166 Spruce Hollow Rd Middleburg Pa 17842 Telephone: (717) 713-8063 I verify that the statements made in the forgoing defense are true and correct. I understand that false statements herein are made subject to the penalties of 18 Pa.C.S 4904, relating to unsworn falsification to authorities. Date: June 13, 2012 Travis L. Mellinger ( ~ WAYNI: F. SHADE, IN THE CGURT OF COMMON PL,IAS OF Pllaintiff :CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA CIVIL ACTION -LAW v. .. ,. _., NO. 12 -3035 CIVIL TERM TRAVIS L. MELL;[NGER, = Defendant _ .._, __. __~ ~ _~ _ PRAECIPE FOR JUDGMENT -- -- ,... TO: David D. Buell, Prothonotary ~~~ Please enter.judgment in favor of Plaintiff anal against Defendant in the above matter on the basis of the attached Stipulation in they amount of X7,528 plus costs and interest at the contract rate of one (1%) percent per month from September 2`~, 200. Date: October 23, :2012 r- Wayne .Shade, Esquire Suhreme Court No. 15712 53 West Pomfret Street Carlisle, Pennsylvania 1701 ~~ Telephone: 71 ?-243-0220 .~~a~ ~~ ~~ ~ u ~~~ ~~ J `f ~~$a~~~11 1 o-~c~ W~c'1~1~d WAYNE F. SHADE, IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF Plaintiff :CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA CIVIL ACTION - LA~%V ~. NO. 12 -3035 CIVIL TI RM TRAVIS L. MELI:INGER, Defendant STIPULATION AND NOW, comes Defendant TRAVIS L. MELLINGER and with regard to the abo~ e captioned m,3tter stipulates and agrees that judgment be entered in favor of Plaintiff and against Defendant in the amount of $7,528 plus costs and interest at the rate of one percent per month. from September 25, 2008.. I verify that the statements made in the foregoing Stipulation are true and correct. I understand that false statements herein are made subject to the penalties of 18 Pa. C.S. § 4904. relating to unsworn falsification to authorities. Date: October ~_~ 2012 Travis L. Mellinger WAYNE F. SHADE. IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF Plaintiff :CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA CIVIL ACTION -~ LAW v. NO. 12 -3035 CIVIL TERM TRAVIS L. MELL,INGER, I;)efendant NOTICE TO: Travis L. Mellinger 1 b6 Spruce :Hollow Road iddleburg, Pennsylvania 1.7842 Pursuant to Rule 236 of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, you are hereby notified that JUDGMENT has been entered against you in the a''~ove-captioned matter. You may address any questions concerning this Notice to the following in writing. Wayne F. Shade, Fsquire Attonley-at-Law 53 West Pomfret Street Carlisle, Pennsylvania 17013 Date: October 23, 2012 w Prothonotary