Public Mediation

Client Who Was Burned vs. Attorney James Diefenbach - San Diego, Ca

James - Release Our Money Now

J. H. vs. Attorney James Diefenbach - San Diego, Ca
11835 Carmel Mountain Rd, Ste 1304, San Diego, California, 92128, United States
Amount Involved: Other terms
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Statement of Claim
Complaints Involved (3) - View
Claimant says:
"Attorney James Diefenbach Still Withholding Settlement Funds Nearly One Year Later — Wire Transfer Appears To Be Fake
We are sharing our experience with attorney James Diefenbach (Diefenbach Law Group in San Diego, California) to caution others about what we believe to be deeply troubling conduct involving client funds.
In 2024, our legal matters settled and Mr. Diefenbach was entrusted with disbursing the agreed-upon proceeds to us. Despite numerous follow-ups over the course of nearly a year, he has failed to release our funds, which are rightfully owed under the settlement agreements.
In November 2024, Mr. Diefenbach provided us with what appeared to be a wire transfer confirmation from Wells Fargo. The confirmation stated that the wire would be delivered on November 12, 2024. However:


We never received the funds,


Mr. Diefenbach has not responded to repeated inquiries about the missing funds.

Just promises to "do accounting" - just lots of broken promises but we don't have our money.

We are not accusing him of fraud—only the proper authorities can investigate and make that determination. But we believe this document is misleading at best, and may have been used to falsely imply that a payment was made when it wasn’t. If so, that is a very serious ethical and possibly legal issue.
This is compounded by:


A complete lack of trust accounting information


Excuses ranging from illness to being busy, while providing no verifiable updates


Failure to act on multiple written and verbal requests for disbursement


Communications scattered across texts, emails, voicemails and more


Settlement funds for two resolved matters that remain unpaid sans one small partial payment 275 days late - yeas, nearly ONE YER! 


Attorneys are fiduciaries and are obligated to:


Promptly notify clients when settlement funds are received - didn't happen


Maintain those funds in a trust account - we don't know and believe may have taken the money


Disburse those funds without unreasonable delay - it's been nearly ONE YEAR


As of this writing, we have no evidence that our funds are still being safely held in trust and James Diefenbach won't release our money after a zillion broken promises to do so. 
We remain open to resolution, but after this length of time and the lack of communication, transparency and soooooooo many broken promises and falsehoods we feel obligated to share our experience."
...
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What Claimant Wants Hide
Just make me happy!
Claimant invites Attorney James Diefenbach - San Diego, Ca to make a fair offer.
1. Other – Pay for claim posting cost Jun 05, 2025 $14.99
Cash total : TBD
  • 1
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Respondent's Counteroffer

There has been no response to this claim from Attorney James Diefenbach - San Diego, Ca. This claim will remain posted until resolved
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  • Contributed Solution: by Rafael Turik On 06-08-2025
    1 comment
    First you should try to contact the council that handles lawyers in the place where you are and then contact the police. This smells like a scam by this lawyer.
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Is this a fair resolution?
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  • Contributed Solution: by George Maxwell On 06-01-2025
    1 comment
    Contact the relevant state bar association to inquire about the correct pathway to resolution More...
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