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New Attorneys & Refiled Claims

On September 27, 2007 Chicago attorney Robert Orman refiled my counterclaims.  I no longer lived in Illinois. I had concerns for my safety and didn't know how I could keep my information private.  Robert Orman told me to file as Jane Doe rather than Shellie Beverlin.  I took his advice and filed as Jane Doe.  I would later learn that I should not have done that without the court's permission.  An error that would cost me my case three years later and leave me $100,000.00 poorer.  Robert Orman filed the case for me but he was not my attorney.  I had him file my complaint naming me as a pro-se litigant (meaning I am representing myself).  The lawsuit was filed against Jay Paul Deratany, his former partner Terrence Carden III, and their current/former (?) paralegal, Spencer Lord. This time the case would be before Judge James D. Egan. Due to the way the previous lawsuit was dismissed I am now the plaintiff. I did this only after very careful consideration over a very long period of time. Always think long and hard before filing a lawsuit, as it is a difficult process to go through no matter which side of the lawsuit that you are on. Unfortunately I felt that I had no choice other than to refile my claims due to the ongoing problems I am/was  having as a result of the actions of the members of this law firm.

Douglas Morrison of Morrison & Mix began representing me in this new lawsuit, along with Stephen K. Milott of Gunty & McCarthy in January of 2008 (Gunty & McCarthy did not represent me, Mr. Milott did privately).  After Mr. Morrison sent me an email on August 22, 2008 saying, "Deratany is a skunk and what he did to you is unconscionable," I really believed that Doug Morrison and Stephen Milott were geared up and ready to hold Deratany responsible. Once again I was hopeful that justice would be served. Douglas Morrison officially put in his appearance as my attorney in January of 2008.   Stephen K. Milott never put in his appearance but was CC'd by Douglas Morrison on everything . Mr. Deratany had filed a motion to get my case dismissed and Mr. Morrison went in to argue the motion.  My case was dismissed due to the way that I filed it.  Rather than filing Shellie Beverlin as the plaintiff, I filed the case as Jane Doe.   I filed my case this way as a result of Robert Orman telling me to.  How could such an experienced attorney make such a costly mistake? There were countless motions argued before Judge James D. Egan before this case was over. Jay Paul Deratany was successful in getting the very serious case that I filed against him dismissed on the Jane Doe technicality by Judge James D. Egan on January 18, 2008 Judge's Order (not signed until the 30th).Yet on the very same day,  right after that hearing in which my case had been dismissed, Mr. Deratany sent a letter dated 1/18/08 to Mr. Morrison asking to schedule 2/15/08  for us all to meet and talk settlement deratany letter.  Mr. Morrison sent an email to Mr. Milott and I regarding the settlement conference with Mr. Deratany morrison email.  We agreed to setting the date for February 15, 2008. Mr. Deratany was running for Cook County Commissioner during the time that he had asked for the settlement conference.  The date that Mr. Deratany asked for the settlement conference to be scheduled was after the Cook County Commissioner election date. Jay Paul Deratany was not elected as the Cook County Commissioner.  Deratany lost the election and the settlement conference never occurred. HMMM coincidence? In addition to that run for a political office, in 2009 Jay Paul Deratany ran for a seat on the Cook County Board of Review.  Again, Mr. Deratany was not successful and was not elected to the Cook County Board of Review.

Out of the blue in September of 2008 Douglas Morrison and Stephen K. Milott jointly emailed a letter to me saying that they were not going to represent me any longer.  I was shocked.  I tried phoning Mr. Milott many times but he would not take my calls, nor would he return them.  My emails to him went unanswered as well.  In speaking with several different attorneys about taking over my case I was told that Douglas Morrison and Stephen K. Milott did not protect my rights and that I would not be able to refile my claims. I didn't think that that was possible, I knew them both to be excellent attorneys and I just didn't believe it.  I called Mr. Morrison and told him what I was being told about the condition of my case.  Mr. Morrison said that that was not true and my case was fine.  I believed him.  I continued to look for new representation.