Client Stories

The hard work that legal services advocates and pro bono attorneys provide are critical aspects for achieving equal access to justice for all Arkansans regardless of economic status. Legal services advocacy and pro bono work can provide rewarding experiences both for the advocate and the client in need of help. Here are just a few examples of successful pro bono and legal services cases:

A 78-year-old, wheel-chair bound client called a legal services office in desperation. She had been served with an eviction notice from a federally-subsidized housing project for low-income elderly and disabled tenants. She was being evicted because she had failed to clean behind her stove and refrigerator and for "loitering" in the lobby of the apartment building instead of waiting in her apartment for the weekly visit by a home health care nurse. A legal services attorney had tried to reach a settlement with the apartment manager and local housing authority. Despite these efforts, the government filed a lawsuit against the client. At the court hearing, the judge found that the reasons for the client's eviction were without merit and that the apartment manager's rules were unreasonable. The client was allowed to stay in her apartment.

A disabled client was no longer able to make car payments and agreed to let Ford Motor Credit repossess her car. She did not realize that she would be sued for a deficiency judgment and that her only means of support, an SSI check, would be garnished. She contacted her local legal services office where a staff attorney helped her answer the garnishment and claim her exemptions. Under federal law, SSI benefits are exempt. The court ordered Ford Motor Credit to return the money to the client.

Family violence forced a woman to seek a divorce from her husband who was abusive to her and the eldest of her two daughters. There were police reports documenting the abuse. The daughter was removed from the home temporarily until the client could obtain a divorce. A volunteer attorney with a legal services program helped the client obtain a divorce in which she was awarded custody of both daughters and the father wasn't granted visitation.

A 37-year-old father of two was fired from his teaching job due to allegations of child abuse. The client denied all allegations and came to legal services for representation at the fair hearing. A legal services staff attorney obtained audio tapes of the interview with the child and discovered that the child had made several statements which indicated that another party could have been responsible for the alleged abuse. These statements were not considered by the investigator and no investigation of other individuals was ever undertaken. The administrative law judge found that there was no credible evidence that the client had done anything improper. The client's name was removed from the Arkansas Child Maltreatment Registry and he is now eligible to return to his teaching position.

Protecting Property Rights

Mr. And Mrs. R owned a 4.5-acre tract of land. In 2003, they mortgaged hal fo it to secure a home-construction loan. After they defaulted on the loan in 2008, the bank foreclosed the mortgaged property and deeded over to the Federal National Mortgage Association. But the bank made a mistake. Insteady of conveying half of the R's property, the deed covered all 4.5 acres. Unaware of the error, the R's put a mobile home on the half they rightly assumed they still owned. Fannie Mae sued the R's. The clients tried to explain that the bank had made a mistake, but it didn't work. Fannie Mae said its deed covered the entire property. It said the R's would have to move.

With nowhere else to turn, the R's contacted legal aid. The case was complicated. The bank that had messed up the deed closed, and Fannie Mae had two different law firms working on the matter. After a year of negotiations, Fannie Mae agreed to give the R's clear title to their half of the land. Without the help of legal aid, the R's would have been evicted from their rightful property.

Navigating Bureaucracies

Ms. F came to legal aid after three medical providers sued her for services that Medicaid should have but failed to cover. The medical providers said that the Department of Human Services rejected their Medicaid claims by saying Ms. F was ineligible for coverage. But DHS does not have to notify a patient when it finds the patient does not have coverage and rejects the provider's claim. Because of this, Ms. F did not know about the problem until more than a year after her treatment. To make matters worse, the court had awarded a judgment against her, a judgment that Ms. F wasn't aware of until she came to legal aid.

The legal aid attorney discovered that there had apparently been a computer breakdown at DHS around this time. It turned out that regardles of what the medical providers had said, DHS had no record that the providers submitted any Medicaid claims for their treatment of Ms. F. Ultimately, legal aid persuaded DHS to write a letter stating it had no record of the claims supposedly sent by the medical providers. This letter convinced the debt collector to dismiss the lawsuit against Ms. F.

Protection from Illegal Garnishments

Ms. B lived with and cared for her 80-year old mother, who was bedfast. As part of managing her mother's affairs, Ms. B added her name to her mother's bank account. This account held both the income from Ms. B's job at Hospice Angels, Inc., and from her mother's Social Secuirty payments. A creditor had secured the right to garnish Ms. B's account to satisfy a debt. Initially, Ms. B's bank told her that $22.90 would be held and sent to the creditor. But just a few days later, her mother's Social Security payment deposited. The bank now said it would withhold $900 from their account and that it had a court order to send the money to Ms. B's creditor.

Ms. B reached out to legal aid for help. Legal aid made sure she could fight to keep her mother's Social Security benefits, which can be exempt from garnishment. Before long, Ms. B's creditor released its garnishment, the bank lifted its hold, and the benefits were kept where they belonged: with Ms. B and her mother.

Securing Justice for Mothers and Children

Suffering from mental and physical abuse from her husband, Ms. M and her three children needed help. When they reached out to legal aid, it helped her get a protection order and file for divorce. Ms. M wanted full custody and to strip her husband of all visitation rights. The husband's attorney tried several times to negotiate for visitation, but Ms. M refused to give in.

At first, it looked like Ms. M was being unreasonable. But it was soon clear that she was protecting her children from an abusive spouse and father. In a tear-jerking testimony, the children described the mental and physical abuse they suffered at the hands of their father. The children had been victimized for years and were terrified of their father. Because legal aid was there to help, the court granted the divorce, the abusive father lost all visitation rights, and Ms. B and her children were freed from a life of terror.

Securing Health and Income Security Benefits

Mr. T applies for Medicaid in June 2009. He had heart trouble and suffered from diabetes and knee pain. Arthritis plagued his back and shoulders, and severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) made breathing difficult. His health problems finally proved too much. Mr. T, 55 years old, stopped working at a chicken-processing factory in December 2008. The following January, Mr. T suffered a heart attack, and breathing problems landed him back in the hospital in March.

Mr. T needed help with his Medicaid application, which was the subject of a hearing at a local office of the Department of Human Services in southwest Arkansas. Legal aid agreed to represent him. Not only did Mr. T see his appliation approved within days, he also won retroactive coverage to pay the costs from his January heart attack and subsequent hospitalization for breathing problems. Legal aid also succeeded in helping Mr. T file for Social Security disability benefits. It took a great deal of time and energy to prepare Mr. T's case for the hearing and for seeking other services for which he qualified. Without the help of legal aid, Mr. T would have had to fight these battles alone.

Bankruptcy — All in the Family

Ms. S is a 45-year old woman living in Northwest Arkansas. She speaks no English. She and her adult daughter simultaneously applied for credit cards. The credit card company approved the mother's request, extending her a credit line of $10,000. Later, Ms. S's daughter called the credit card company. Pretending to be her mother, she got a card issued to herself on her mother's account.

Over several months, the daughter and her boyfriend used the card to charge up more than $7,000 on Ms. S's account. They also made sure to intercept the monthly statements so Ms. S would not find out what was happening. Eventually, the credit card company sought legal action against Ms. S for the unpaid charges. Legal aid staff worked with Ms. S and the creditor's attorney to prove that she was a victim of fraud. The creditor dismissed the case, and Ms. S did not have to pay the credit card bill.

Orders of Protection for Women and Children

Ms. L lives in Northwest Arkansas. A mother of three children, she was a victim of domestic abuse when she sought legal help. One vicious attack left her suffering from whiplash and led to fluid in her spine. All three children had witnessed the violence against their mother. Ms. L's abuser had already been to jail once for attempting to blow her up.
 

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