'Strong Arm' lawyer found guilty of negligence, fined $145,000

   "The Strong Arm" Franklin D. Azar may have to do a few more dumbbell curls after a jury found the lawyer of daytime TV fame guilty of negligence and misrepresentation.

   Azar, whose three law offices along the Front Range specialize in autocrash claims, was ordered Wednesday to pay a former client $145,000 in damages. Despite being ordered to pay damages, he called the verdict a "big victory" and said he plans to win an appeal. Other allegations, including theft and false advertising, were dismissed by the 4th Judicial District Court jury.

   The suit was brought against Azar, an Aurorabased attorney with offices in Colorado Springs and Pueblo, by 40-year-old Shawna Jimenez of Colorado Springs. Her lawyer, Patric LeHouillier, originally had asked the jury for about $500,000 but said Wednesday he was pleased with the outcome.

   "I think the jury was very upset with the ‘settlement mill' approach where the clients' needs and wants are not paramount," he said. "They were upset by the Azar business model."

   Jimenez said, "I'm really happy, and I think the jury was fair."

   Azar's frequent commercials have made him arguably one of the most recognizable names in local television. His ads, in which a hammer pounds out "The Strong Arm" into a sheet of metal, boast he can get the most money from insurance companies.

   Jimenez called after seeing one of those TV ads in 2004. She suffered neck injuries in a car crash and was represented by Azar attorney Nancy Fisher, who settled the case for $25,000. Jimenez said she was pressured to take the settlement and duped by the TV commercials.

   LeHouillier told jurors the Azar firm is not about fighting for the client but turning settlements quickly and frequently.

   Azar's attorney, Marc Levy, countered that Jimenez willingly signed the settlement and continued to use the firm afterward. He argued Fisher worked hard on the case whose outcome, had it come to a trial, was questionable.

   The jury found Azar and Fisher guilty of professional negligence and awarded Jimenez $85,000 on those claims. It found Fisher was also guilty of breaching her fiduciary responsibility and ordered an award of $35,000. The firm was found guilty of negligent misrepresentation and ordered to pay $25,000.

   Azar said after the verdict that the professional negligence stemmed from a lost bill from the hospital, which caused Memorial Hospital's credit-collection company to go after Jimenez, and he said the judge would not allow the jury to see that the Colorado Attorney Regulation Council investigated these claims and found no evidence of wrongdoing.

Staff writer Dennis Huspeni contributed to this story.