Schneiderman: Legal Docs by Me must pay back consumers “victimized” by firm’s “illegal” business practices

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A judge ordered Legal Docs by Me to pay back certain customers by close of business last Friday “after failing to comply with an order to do so last October.”  

New York State Supreme Court also ordered the company, which is now known as NextGenJustice, to turn over a full accounting of those consumers.

NexGenJustice is the “doing business as” name of Legal Docs by Me, according to a disclaimer on the firm’s website.

New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman requested the consumer records and other business records, his office said in a news release issued Friday.

“This is a victory for consumers who were the victims of illegal and deceptive business practices,” Schneiderman said in the news release. “Though this matter is not yet over, it has always been the paramount concern of my office that consumers deceived by this business be made whole.”

 

Company reaction

In a Friday phone interview, Legal Docs by Me owner Derek Distenfield told BJNN that Schneiderman’s press release is “just simply part of their ongoing campaign to attack us in the media.”

“It’s unfortunate that the Attorney General stands up for special-interest groups, as opposed to hard-working families that are demanding our low-cost legal services,” says Distenfield.

He spoke with BJNN from NextGenJustice’s Syracuse office.

Distenfield said he participated in a Thursday hearing before New York State Supreme Court Justice James McClusky.

“Everything that Judge McClusky wants us to do … we’re more than willing to do. I wrote up an affidavit. Our lawyers are going to be filing it today that we believe we’re in full compliance of his most recent order.”

The affidavit addressed the customer restitution that McClusky had ordered, Distenfield adds.

The document indicates that the “refund of monies to our customers is not a concession or admission to the allegations” against NexGenJustice.

 

The case

Schneiderman in April initiated a proceeding to hold NextGenJustice in contempt for “multiple violations” of two court orders stemming from a case brought last summer.

In that initial case, the attorney general accused the business of “engaging in the unauthorized practice of law and deceiving consumers by regularly misrepresenting its pricing, its expertise in the preparation of legal documents, and the nature of the services it provided,” according to the news release.

In the current contempt proceeding, Schneiderman alleges that the business violated a temporary restraining order by “continuing to operate and provide unlicensed legal services to consumers, despite a clear court mandate to halt such practices.”

Despite obtaining more time from the court, NextGenJustice has failed to file any opposition to the contempt application pending against the company and its owner, Schneiderman’s office said.

McClusky during the Thursday hearing gave the business another opportunity to respond, and a new hearing is currently scheduled for July 22, according to the news release.

On its website, NextGenJustice says its services include business forms and documents; tax preparation and forms; estate documents; and documents pertaining to family law.

The website also includes a disclaimer, which includes these opening sentences, “NextGenJustice is not a law firm and does not provide attorneys or legal services to its customers. Using NextGenJustice services is not a substitute for hiring a lawyer.”

NexGenJustice currently operates New York offices in Watertown and Syracuse and Florida offices in Jacksonville and Tampa, according to its website.

The website also indicates the firm has plans to open 12 additional offices in states that include Florida, Georgia, and Texas.

 

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com