F-ing Business

March 19, 2012

An Orlando-based law firm is suing the Better Business Bureau of Central Florida for giving the firm an “F” rating on its services.

The firm flunked in mid-2011 due to its failure “to resolve the underlying cause of a pattern of [client] complaints.”

The complaints came from clients involved in the defense of foreclosure cases and from clients seeking loan modifications. The firm says the complaints come from clients “under a tremendous amount of stress” who don’t understand their cases involve “legal complexities” and can’t be resolved quickly. The firm says the complaints are a small fraction of the 25,000 cases the firm has handled over the past three years.

The firm is claiming the BBB grading system is biased and the “F” grade hurt the firm’s current and future business. The lawsuit alleges claims of false advertising and defamation. Damages are unspecified.

Legal experts were divided on the chances the suit will succeed. Some said recent cases favor the law firm. Others said BBB has a right under the First Amendment to express its opinion, so long as it’s based on facts.

Maureen Martin [2]

March 19, 2012

Author bio:

Maureen Martin passed away on February 5, 2013. The Heartland Institute's page in tribute to her work and legacy is here.

Maureen Martin was The Heartland Institute's senior fellow for legal affairs and managing editor of Lawsuit Abuse Fortnightly. Formerly a partner in a large Chicago law firm, she had been in the private practice of law for nearly 29 years, generally concentrating in litigation and environmental law. She practiced throughout the country, receiving the highest possible rating of AV for legal ability and legal ethics from Martindale-Hubbell. She was an adjunct professor of environmental law at Loyola University Chicago for more than 10 years.

Her op-eds were published in a variety of newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, the Washington Times, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Providence Journal, Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Detroit News, the New Jersey Star Ledger, the Daily Caller and many other publications. She has been quoted in the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, and Sacramento Bee, among others. She appeared on Milwaukee Public Television, the Milt Rosenberg show on WGN-AM Radio in Chicago, Chicago Public Radio, and on other radio programs in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

In her private practice, she litigated a wide variety of cases involving sophisticated constitutional law, class action defense, antitrust, commercial disputes, private property rights, lead-based paint issues, environmental law, bankruptcy, storm water and drainage issues, zoning and land use, and insurance coverage litigation.

She was a graduate of Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where she was a published member of the law review, recipient of an American Jurisprudence Award, a member of the Moot Court Board, and a legal writing instructor.