Press Releases

1. Presentations - Gerald W. Dibble, B.S., J.D., LL.M speaks to the Rochester Home Builders' Association, Inc.
   
   Gerald W. Dibble, Esq. owns Dibble & Miller, P.C. and leads a staff of 41, including 13 attorneys.  Mr. Dibble brings his experience and knowledge to the members of the Rochester Home Builders' Association, Inc. to help them avoid many legal pitfalls that these business owners may face.  In addition to representing business owners, Mr. Dibble seeks to educate the industry on several legal issues.  You can learn more about Mr. Dibble's presentation using the link above.
    
2. Dibble & Miller, P.C., Digital Law Office:  The Firm Was Featured for Its Advanced Law-Office Technology in the Rochester Daily Record, a Prominent Legal and Business Publication.
   
   A quote from the paper:
   "The firm's entire case management system is digital. This may come as a surprise to many in the legal community but Dibble & Miller does not keep paper files when they do work for their clients. The firm, which practices in the areas of business agreements, business formations, criminal law, debtor rights, estate planning, family law, litigation, personal injury, real estate, and tax defense, is a model for law firms of the future ."
   
   The article continues to describe the firm's cutting-edge technology and the benefits to clients as a result of the firm having such technology. The firm's use of advanced document management technology is reflected on the Xerox Web Site.
    
3. Non-Compete Agreements:  Claim by an Employer of Possible "Inevitable Disclosure" Not Permitted As Substitute for a Non-Compete Agreement.
   
   Mr. Norton has authored articles for “The Daily Record”, a well known and widely used local legal publication, including " ‘Inevitable Disclosure’ Not Permitted As Substitute for Non-Compete Agreement ". In this article, Mr. Norton explained a complex and heavily litigated matter concerning an employer’s ability, using the theory of inevitable disclosure of possible trade secrets, to restrict a former employee’s decision to work for a competitor following the employee’s termination, where the employee was not restricted by a non-compete agreement.
    
4. Foreclosure: AG's office seeks 'robo-signers'.
   
   It has recently come to light that employees of some of the country’s largest mortgage servicers routinely signed affidavits submitted in foreclosure proceedings without personal knowledge of the underlying facts or verification of loan file information, and without even reading the documents they signed, causing people to lose their homes.  A September 2010 article in the American Bar Association Journal presented information obtained by a Maine attorney that an employee of one of these companies admitted signing more than 10,000 mortgage documents per month, giving him about 1.5 minutes to review each document.  In October 2010, such “robo-signing” procedures came under investigation in New York State and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo called for a temporary suspension of all foreclosure actions in the state until the banks correct their procedures to comply with New York law.  The Attorney General’s office is seeking documentation and information on how foreclosure documents are prepared and verified.
   
   In his interview in this “The Daily Record” article, the Firm’s owner Gerald W. Dibble, B.S., J.D., LL. M. notes that a potential problem resulting from the discovery of mortgage servicers’ possibly illegal documentation is that buyers may end up with a house they are not entitled to because the paperwork may be deficient or they may not be able to obtain a clean title.
    
5. Foreclosure: In NY foreclosures, onus on attorney.
   
   As a result of allegations of “robo-signing” foreclosure and other mortgage-related documents by the country’s largest mortgage servicers and the resulting investigations by the New York State Attorney General’s office, the New York State Unified Court System added a new rule in October 2010 designed to protect homeowners. The rule requires that attorneys filing foreclosure forms will be required to submit documentation affirming that all documents have been verified for accuracy.The article describing the new rule includes an interview with the Firm’s owner, Gerald W. Dibble, B.S., J.D., LL. M., in which he states that the rule is a good idea because the public must be ensured the courts are doing their job and their homes aren’t being foreclosed upon unfairly.
    
6. Foreclosure:  Lawyers who uncovered the foreclosure scandal.
   
   This article from “The Daily Record” is a fascinating story about how two Maine attorneys first discovered that an employee of GMAC, the fifth largest mortgage loan servicing company in the U.S., was signing 10,000 documents a month that he did not read, some of which were foreclosure affidavits.  This employee’s testimony prompted these 2 lawyers to pursue legal action against GMAC as part of their work for a consumer-oriented foreclosure prevention program that one of the attorneys had founded.  Their work ultimately led to a court ruling that GMAC acted in bad faith in its foreclosure practices, prompting GMAC, and eventually many banks and other mortgage service companies across the country, to issue foreclosure moratoriums to review their foreclosure procedures.
    
7. Foreclosure:  Lenders will pay fees in NY.
   
   The discovery that some of the country’s large mortgage service companies used procedures that included “robo-signing” foreclosure documents (employees signing hundreds to thousands of affidavits concerning loan files of which they had no personal knowledge) has resulted in changes to New York state law that may help “level the playing field” for consumers, according to some attorneys. One of the new rulings in October 2010 requires attorneys to verify all documents submitted in foreclosure case; a second ruling allows those in foreclosure on their homes to have lenders pay their legal fees (the Access to Justice in Lending Act signed by Governor David A. Patterson). One attorney, interviewed in this article, predicts an increase in legal challenges to the validity of mortgages in bankruptcy, as a result of this new act.  Gerald W. Dibble, B.S., J.D., LL. M., owner of Dibble & Miller, P.C., was also interviewed.  He predicts these changes will make the system be more accurate.
    
8. Tax:  Tax Probe.
   
   The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance continues its ramped-up efforts to round up tax evaders with its December 2009 arrest of seven Rochester-area professionals on felony charges for failing to file state income tax returns, according to this article in “The Daily Record”.  These individuals included an attorney, a doctor, a nurse, a dentist, an electrical contractor, a carpenter, and a partner in a wood-salvage business.  The Deputy Commissioner for enforcement at the state tax department, Bill Comiskey, states in the article that he feels the increase in enforcement efforts have been well-advertised, and that these recent enforcement efforts deter other taxpayers from failing to file.  However, attorney Gerald W. Dibble, B.S., J.D., LL. M., who owns Dibble & Miller, P.C. and was retained to represent two of the defendants, was also interviewed for the article and he maintains that the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance has not adequately advertised its new enforcement policies and that these individuals were “blindsided”.
    
9. Real Estate:  Fence Affidavit.
   
   Not uncommonly, fences between adjoining properties are not precisely on the property boundary line.  For example, suppose that 15 years ago, your neighbor built a fence that ran parallel to the property line but was a foot or so beyond his line onto your property.  Now you want to sell your property and the survey map obtained for the sale reveals the one-foot fence encroachment onto your property.  Did you know that even if your neighbor signed an affidavit saying that he is aware of the actual boundary line between your property and his property and makes no claim of entitlement to the strip of land between the fence and the actual property, this strip of land actually now legally belongs to your neighbor?  This occurs due to the adverse possession law of NY State.  Under the legal doctrine of adverse possession, if a person continuously, adversely, notoriously, openly, and exclusively occupies a parcel of real estate for ten years, that person can become the legal owner of that real estate.  A May 2000 decision by the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court (concerning just such a case, and in which the Dibble & Miller, P.C. law firm represented one of the parties involved) stated that the “fence affidavit” the neighbor had once signed had no legal effect because title to the land had already vested in him by adverse possession.
    
10. Foreclosure:  Foreclosure freeze hits large firms.
    
    New laws were enacted in New York State in October 2010 to help protect homeowners after allegations emerged that some of the larger mortgage servicing companies and large law firms working with them were signing foreclosure documents without properly verifying their accuracy.  The New York State law now requires attorneys to formally affirm the accuracy of foreclosure documents.  Owner of Dibble & Miller, P.C., Gerald W. Dibble, B.S., J.D., LL. M., who was interviewed in this article from “The Daily Record”, said that small firms such as his will not be affected by the new law because they already have direct contact with the mortgagee, so that obtaining accurate information was already being done efficiently and properly.  However, the large firms that handle the majority of foreclosures may be slowed down for some period of time as new procedures are instituted.  These large firms had mechanized the process of filing foreclosure documents such that attorneys did not have personal knowledge or familiarity with the particular cases.
     
11. Dibble & Miller, P.C. - Xerox Docushare Video.
     

    Dibble & Miller, P.C. strives to be an all digital law firm, utilizing technology to increase the quality of representation and lower the cost of that representation.  Dibble & Miller, P.C. uses DocuShare, a content management platform developed by Xerox, to store, organize, and access client’s files.  To see more about this system and its benefits to client’s please view the Xerox webpage or video below:

    Click here to see case study done by Xerox on Dibble & Miller, P.C..

    Click here to see Xerox Docushare Case Study (Video).

    Click here to go to (DocuShare) webpage.

12. Dibble & Miller, P.C. - David B. Nickason.
    
    Dibble & Miller, P.C. utilizes digital document storage for client’s case files.  The result is better access to client documents and lower costs for our clients.  As part of this firm’s goal to integrate technology to better represent our client’s, we are continuously looking for new ways to improve the firm’s technology.  David Nickason, the firm’s Computer and Network Administrator, has been recognized by Microsoft as a Most Valuable Professional (MVP) from 2006-2016.  The award is given to recognize exceptional technical expertise, their willingness to help others make the most of technology, and for making a significant and positive impact on technical communities.
     
13. USA Today Education - Mentor High School Student.
    
    Dibble & Miller, P.C. is a law firm focusing on representing individuals, small businesses, and medium businesses.  Part of this focus includes being involved in the community and community development.  To this goal, Dibble & Miller, P.C. has participated in mentoring programs, including with USA Today Education.  If you are seeking an internship or are part of a mentoring program looking for a mentor, please feel free to submit your information for consideration.

(Version GA02a)