On June 22, the People's Court of Hoan Kiem District ( Hanoi ) reopened two trials to try two lawsuits requesting the cancellation of legal service contracts, between the plaintiffs, Ms. Truong Thi Ban (59 years old) and Mr. Phung Quoc Lan (79 years old, both residing in Long Bien District) and the defendant, Hai Nam Law Company Limited, represented by lawyer Vu Manh Cuong.
The trial was originally scheduled to begin on June 8 but had to be postponed because the defendant requested a postponement due to work. Today, in both cases, the defendants were absent again.
Mr. Phung Quoc Lan sued the law firm to reclaim legal service fees.
The lawsuit was dismissed because the lawyer did not violate the law.
In the case of Mr. Phung Quoc Lan, he was absent and authorized a representative. Presenting in court, Mr. Lan's representative maintained the lawsuit request, requesting the court to force Hai Nam Law Company Limited to return 50 million VND in legal service fees to him.
However, after consideration, the panel of judges decided to reject the above request. The court held that the contract clearly stated the terms, including the obligation of Hai Nam Law Company Limited to research, collect documents and evaluate evidence.
"After studying the file, the company advised Mr. Lan and filed a complaint with the police investigation agency. Thus, the company properly performed its contractual obligations, and Mr. Lan's accusation that the lawyer seriously violated the contractual obligations was unfounded," the court stated.
Regarding the amount of 50 million VND, the contract clearly states "it cannot be refunded under any circumstances", so there is no basis to force Hai Nam Law Company Limited to return the money.
In the case of Ms. Truong Thi Ban, during the trial, the representative of the prosecutor's office argued that the legal contract was signed when her husband was still alive, but now he has passed away. The value of the contract is not large, but it is necessary to comply with the regulations to ensure the rights of the first-line heirs of Ms. Ban's husband.
Therefore, the representative of the prosecutor requested to postpone the trial so that the plaintiff could submit additional death certificates and related documents. The panel of judges approved this request, but did not announce a date to reopen the trial.
Lawsuit filed because lawyer received money and "did nothing"
According to the case, in 2014, Ms. Truong Thi Ban’s husband participated in multi-level marketing at Thien Ngoc Minh Uy Company. To get money, Ms. Ban’s husband mortgaged the family’s land book to borrow 300 million VND to contribute capital to the business.
Some time later, Mrs. Ban discovered that the mortgage contract had been "magically transformed" into a land use rights transfer contract. The family was shocked, thinking they had been scammed, because at the time of signing, they had not been given an explanation about this.
After the red book was transferred, the new owner mortgaged Mrs. Ban’s family’s house and land to borrow 4 billion VND from the bank. Because he did not pay the interest and principal as promised, this person was sued by the bank, demanding repayment; Mrs. Ban’s family’s house was at risk of being repossessed.
Ms. Truong Thi Ban also sued the law firm to reclaim legal service fees.
Like Mrs. Ban's husband, Mr. Phung Quoc Lan mortgaged his house to borrow 1 billion VND to buy VIP multi-level marketing packages, and the mortgage contract was "magically transformed" into a land use rights transfer contract.
Having no other choice, when they discovered they had been scammed, Ms. Ban, Mr. Lan and 10 other people in Long Bien District in the same situation discussed seeking legal assistance from lawyers.
In July 2019, this group signed legal service contracts with Hai Nam Law Company Limited, with a total cost of more than 600 million VND.
According to the agreement, lawyer Vu Manh Cuong is responsible for collecting, verifying, and researching case files of loan fraud, mortgage, and red book transfer; drafting documents, and coordinating with competent state agencies to resolve the case...
The plaintiffs' presentation shows that they were asked by lawyer Cuong to sign a collective complaint about the behavior of a group of people involved in multi-level marketing. Then, 2 of them went with the lawyer to the Hanoi City Police Department of Investigation to submit the complaint, but only waited outside the gate, not going in together.
Months later, they have not received any updates from their lawyer about whether the complaint has been sent to the police. "Mr. Cuong said he sent the complaint on August 30, 2019, but after nearly 4 years, I have not received any response," said Ms. Ban, adding that she and others had drafted a complaint to the Hanoi City Police.
On May 19, the police responded, confirming that they had not received any application from lawyer Cuong on August 30, 2019. Believing that the lawyer did not fulfill his work commitment, Ms. Ban, Mr. Lan and many others filed a lawsuit, demanding the refund of the fees paid.
On the contrary, in documents sent to the court, lawyer Vu Manh Cuong said the plaintiffs' request was baseless.
In fact, he had many direct consultation sessions outside of office hours for Mrs. Ban's group, then collected, researched the documents and prepared the complaint. He also personally went with 2 of them to submit the complaint, the complaint was received, entered into the register and followed the correct procedural steps.
The lawyer affirmed that the agreement between the two parties was voluntary and did not violate any prohibitions. The contract clearly stated that "the 50 million VND is not refundable under any circumstances."
In addition, the contracts were still in progress, and the investigation agency was working when Ms. Ban and Mr. Lan suddenly requested to stop the work and demand a refund. This lawyer asked the court not to accept the plaintiff's request, because this was "an act of disrespect for the law and non-compliance with the contract".
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