Family Law

“Lorraine,” a part-time caregiver of her grandchild, was already struggling to pay her bills each month when her wages started being wrongfully garnished for an alleged debt of $11,762.49. In addition to her regular expenses, she had undergone five eye surgeries, making her financial situation more burdensome. Because some of her wages were being withheld, Lorraine couldn't pay her rent and bills, nor keep food on the table without borrowing money.

Represented by JALA attorney Michelle Broyles, “Yvette” was awarded sole parental responsibility and 100% timesharing for her four minor children in 2021 in a divorce from her husband, who was allowed supervised visits after being released from jail in California for serious crimes. Now engaged to a man with whom she has a 14-month-old son, she and her partner plan to move to the Washington, DC, area, where her partner was offered a job at a law school, and where they both have family. In the meantime, Yvette’s ex-husband began showing up at the children’s schools and trying to take them with him, as well as watching Yvette’s house and waiting until the kids were home and she was not, then convincing them to let him in and go places with him. Her fiancé moved in, and her ex-husband began showing up with law enforcement officers and demanding the children from him, causing Yvette to have to regularly leave work to handle the situation. She kept a copy of the final judgement from the divorce with her at all times for this reason. The repeated absences from these incidents cost Yvette her job.

After eight years of excellent job performance at a large insurance company, “Jean,” not her real name, had to take six weeks of leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) due to a serious medical condition. While she was off from work, her husband walked out on her and their two teenaged girls, which sent Jean into a deep depression that required her to seek counseling. While she was in treatment for depression, she needed more time off, so she requested and received approval for intermittent FMLA leave that started in June 2022. While struggling to get her personal life back on track, Jean was experiencing significant upheaval at work, as the company was engaging in major job restructuring. Her job duties expanded threefold within six months, and she was assigned several different managers during this time. By 2023, she was still taking intermittent FMLA leave for her depression, and her work began to suffer. As a result, she received written warnings and job coaching, which had never happened to her before. After increasing her focus on her job performance, she was shocked when the company terminated her effective Jan. 10, 2024.

Thelma Vo, 67, came to JALA after unsuccessfully disputing charges for dental services she had not been provided. She had X-rays done and was told she would need several crowns. She did not have insurance, so she paid out of pocket. That same day, she signed an agreement with a bank to finance any future dental services she might require. Vo decided to get a second opinion from an endodontist and, based on this second opinion, then called the dentist office to cancel any further appointments. She called the dental office repeatedly for weeks, never receiving a return call. In the meantime, she continued to be charged by the bank, which was auto-debiting her account in the amount of $164/month. Vo finally reached out directly to the lender to cancel her contract. She was told they would need to receive a cancellation report from the dentist before they could close out her account. The lender received a cancellation report, but it was not completed correctly by the dentist, so they did not act on it. By this time, $640 had been debited from Vo’s account, all for services she did not receive. The dentist never sent a corrected cancellation report to the lender, and the dentist argued that Vo did owe fees for a provisional crown it had ordered from its own lab. During the initial consult, Vo did not have any impressions done and was not provided with any documents regarding the cost of any additional services.