Reviews
Overall rating
Nina
10 Nov, 2018
Upon the recommendation of our practice broker, in 2015 we retained attorney Chuck Mastin (now located in Centennial , Colorado) to handle the sale of our dental practice, which included an assignment of our existing lease to the buyer. Mr. Mastin informed us that his associate, Jeff Bergstrom, would be negotiating this lease assignment with the buyer and landlord.
While we were satisfied with the sales negotiation and transaction, we cannot say the same of our lease assignment. We feel we were not correctly informed by Mr. Bergstrom about the extent of our continuing financial liability ( our practice broker had the same understanding that we did with respect to the term of our liability), and that our interests were not adequately protected. The real estate professionals and attorneys we subsequently consulted in 2017, all agreed with us.
Instead of our financial liability terminating at the conclusion of our five year lease (which was concern enough for us at the time of the sale, and this concern was made very clear to Mr. Bergstrom), we were informed by the landlord when our own lease ended in 2017, that we remained responsible in the case of financial default by the buyer. This liability would continue indefinitely until a brand new lease was signed (versus the far more likely option of simply extending the existing lease), which could be many years into the future!
We immediately contacted Jeff Bergstrom, who was disinterested in resolving this precarious financial situation we were left in by his having assured us prior to the practice sale that these liability terms of the lease assignment were "absolutely the norm.” We therefore had to retain another attorney and spend eight months and over $2200 in legal fees to negotiate with the landlord the appropriate release of financial liability that was not included in the original lease assignment. We asked Mastin Bergstrom, LLC, to reimburse us for these additional legal costs, which would not have arisen had our interests been adequately protected at the time of the practice sale, but Mr. Bergstrom declined, after ignoring our first request for reimbursement.
Needless to say, we are very dissatisfied with the quality of Jeff Bergstrom's professional work.
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Mercedes
13 Mar, 2018
Mr. Bergstrom is open and honest. He provided me excellent direction with some preliminary questions I had. At no time did I feel pressured. I recommend him and his office to anyone in need of a tax, business or real estate lawyer in Colorado.
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