First, Michael DeMayo’s law firm overpaid her by $5K, then it threatened her with arrest
A week after Michael DeMayo’s law firm overpaid a client by several thousands of dollars, she received a letter sent under the signature of the prominent Charlotte attorney.
“Overpayment and Fraud,” it began.
A law firm clerical error had resulted in the client receiving an extra $4,900 or so, the DeMayo letter said, and it demanded that the client return the money within the week.
“Failure to comply with this request will result in our being forced to swear out a warrant for theft and conversion,” the letter continued. “This is very serious and it is a crime.”
There was one problem, according to the N.C. State Bar: The woman had done nothing wrong.
The only violation, the bar said, belonged to DeMayo, who was censured by the legal-oversight group in October after being found guilty of violating professional rules regulating “dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation.”
In its ruling, the bar, which investigates of complaints of misconduct by lawyers, said it had considered suspending DeMayo’s license over his conduct but had settled on the lesser penalty of censure because the attorney had “accepted responsibility for his actions.”
In a statement Wednesday through his attorney, Lane Williamson of Charlotte, DeMayo said the 2017 letter sent to his “valued client” under his name was actually written by a member of his firm. He described it as “more aggressive than I would have liked.” But he said he is ultimately responsible for what happens in his firm, and that lawyers must be held to a “higher level” of professional standards.
“I’m happy that this matter has been resolved,” DeMayo said, according to the statement. “Once again, I will reach out personally to make sure (the client in question) is OK.”
DeMayo’s firm on East Morehead Street is one of the best known personal-injury legal practices in Charlotte, largely because it was among the first to aggressively advertise itself on TV and through other media to reach potential clients. He also has offices in Monroe and Hickory.
This dispute that led to the public rebuke by the state bar originated with a 2017 worker’s compensation complaint DeMayo’s firm handled for its female client, identified in court documents only by the initials L.H.
After the firm subtracted its fees and expenses, the client was to get two checks: one for $26,100 for her share of the worker’s comp settlement; the other for $4,934 as Medicare set-aside money to cover future medical costs.
Or a little more than $31,000 in all.
Instead, DeMayo’s firm cut the client a check for the $31,000 plus another for the Medicare set-aside.
Four days later, a law firm employee called L.H. to point out the mistake and ask for the money back. According to the bar filing, the client said she had already deposited the settlement check and would not have access to the money for a week.
The next day, she received a letter and email from the DeMayo lawyer who had handled her case. The attorney explained how the error occurred and ask that she return the $4,900 “at her earliest convenience,” according to the bar’s filing. L.H. responded by email to say she could pay the firm $1,000 in six days then make up the rest in future installments.
DeMayo’s letter threatening arrest went out the next day.
In its October ruling, the bar said the letter was “untruthful” since the overpayment was the law firm’s mistake and not due to any illegal act by the client.
DeMayo’s threat of arrest “caused potential significant harm” to L.H., the bar ruled. Had DeMayo followed through with her threat, he would have caused similar harm to the courts “by bringing a criminal charge not supported by law or fact,” the filing said.
DeMayo, who was admitted to the state bar in 1991, has appeared before the group’s disciplinary arm on five other occasions.
Over a 10-year period ending in 2009, he was admonished three times for violating bar rules on direct mailings to potential clients.
In 1999, he was reprimanded for redacting pre-accident, medical-treatment information from his clients’ medical records when sending settlement packages to insurance companies without notifying them that redactions had been made.
He was also censured in 2005 for using a misleading statement to pressure a client to stick with his firm after she had decided to go with a departing DeMayo attorney.
This is his first violation in a decade.
Public censure by the bar is considered a mid-level but significant punishment. Lesser offenses can draw “admonishments” or “reprimands.” More serious violations can result in suspensions of law licenses for up to five years, or disbarment.
This story was originally published December 12, 2019 at 10:16 AM.
