Anderson v. Miss. Bar

269 So. 3d 109
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 6, 2018
DocketNO. 2018-BR-00911-SCT
StatusPublished

This text of 269 So. 3d 109 (Anderson v. Miss. Bar) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Anderson v. Miss. Bar, 269 So. 3d 109 (Mich. 2018).

Opinion

MAXWELL, JUSTICE, FOR THE COURT:

¶ 1. John H. Anderson petitions for reinstatement to the practice of law following a six-month suspension. After review, we find his petition does not adequately state the cause for his suspension, which is a jurisdictional requirement for reinstatement.1 We thus deny his petition for reinstatement.

Procedural History

¶ 2. On November 30, 2017, the Complaint Tribunal appointed by this Court found the Mississippi Bar had proved by clear and convincing evidence that Anderson had violated Mississippi Rule of Professional Conduct 8.1(b) by failing to respond to the Bar's lawful demands for information. The Complaint Tribunal further found Anderson had violated Rules 8.4(a) and (d) by committing misconduct in violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct and by engaging in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice. The Tribunal suspended Anderson from the practice of law for six months.

¶ 3. The only way to be reinstated following a suspension of six months or longer is to petition this Court. Miss. R. Discipline 12(a). Anderson originally filed his petition on June 22, 2018. Because Anderson's petition fell short of the jurisdictional requirements of Rule 12.7, the Bar moved to dismiss it. See Miss. R. Discipline 12.7.

¶ 4. Anderson responded to the Bar's motion to dismiss with a motion to amend his petition. He attached his proposed amended petition to his motion. The Bar did not object to Anderson's amending his petition. Rather, it responded as if Anderson's petition had already been amended. But it still took the view that Anderson's petition, as amended, failed to contain the jurisdictional matters required by Rule 12.7. With no objection from the Bar, we deny its motion to dismiss Anderson's original petition filed June 22, 2018. And we grant Anderson's motion to amend and consider the amended petition he filed July 17, 2018.

Discussion

¶ 5. This Court has exclusive jurisdiction over attorney reinstatements and "review[s] the evidence in disciplinary matters de novo on a case-by-case basis as triers of fact." In re Benson , 890 So.2d 888, 889 (Miss. 2004). The petitioner carries the burden to prove by clear and convincing evidence "that he has rehabilitated himself and established the requisite moral character to entitle him to the privilege of practicing law." Id. (citing In re Holleman , 826 So.2d 1243, 1246 (Miss. 2002) ); Wong v. Miss. Bar , 5 So.3d 369, 371 (Miss. 2008).

¶ 6. "The petitioner must demonstrate this by meeting the jurisdictional requirements of Rule 12." In re Benson , 890 So.2d at 890. Rule 12 requires the petitioner to:

(1) state the cause or causes for suspension;
(2) give the name and current address of all persons, parties, firms, or legal *111entities who suffered pecuniary loss due to the improper conduct;
(3) make full amends and restitution,
(4) show that he has the necessary moral character for the practice of law; and
(5) demonstrate the requisite legal education to be reinstated to the privilege of practicing law.

Id. Also, while not a jurisdictional requirement, this Court considers the Bar's position when deciding to grant or deny the petition for reinstatement. Id.

I. Cause for Suspension

¶ 7. Significantly, Anderson's amended petition does not state the cause for his suspension. Instead, it merely says he violated Rules 8.1(b), 8.4(a), and 8.4(d). But this Court has been clear-"a mere recitation of the rules is not sufficient to satisfy this jurisdictional requirement." Russell v. Miss. Bar , 255 So.3d 136, 137 (Miss. 2017) (citing In re Asher , 987 So.2d 954, 959 (Miss. 2008) ). In Russell , this Court concluded the suspended attorney had "not provided a meaningful explanation of her actions that led to her suspension." Id. The same is true for Anderson's amended petition.

¶ 8. Anderson did not provide the Court a copy of the Complaint Tribunal's order suspending him. Nor, in explaining why he was suspended, does he describe the actions that led to his client's filing an informal bar complaint, which in turn resulted in a formal bar complaint against him. Instead, he broadly attributes his suspension to his "failure to cooperate," which he claims was "multifaceted." Later in his petition, Anderson asserts "[t]hat while this has not been a single and isolated incident as far as discipline is concerned, the case which resulted in the suspension as well as the majority of the other incidents2 have resulted from overextension and/or being overzealous."3

¶ 9. Though this may be true in a general sense, Anderson's petition "fail[s] to provide a clear description of the improper actions that led to [his] suspension." Russell , 255 So.3d at 137. The record from the disciplinary proceeding reveals that Anderson's client, Diane Keller, had filed an informal complaint after she received only $1,500 of what she thought was a $2,500 settlement for her minor son's personal-injury lawsuit.4 Anderson never responded to the Bar's multiple requests for information regarding this complaint. But following a formal complaint, he did appear at a hearing before the Complaint Tribunal. And at that hearing Anderson admitted there had never really been a settlement. Instead, despite assuring Keller that her son's case was "going good," Anderson had failed to issue a summons and serve the defendant with the complaint. The action was dismissed for failure to prosecute. A year after dismissal, when Keller called for an update, Anderson reassured her the case was still "going good" and that he had $2,500 for her. Anderson then sent Keller a check from his personal bank account for $1,500, later claiming to the Tribunal that he had taken a forty *112percent "contingency fee" from the "settlement."

¶ 10.

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Related

In Re Reinstatement of Holleman
826 So. 2d 1243 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2002)
Wong v. the Mississippi Bar
5 So. 3d 369 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2008)
In Re Benson
890 So. 2d 888 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2004)
Russell v. Miss. Bar
255 So. 3d 136 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2017)
In re Asher
987 So. 2d 954 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2008)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
269 So. 3d 109, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/anderson-v-miss-bar-miss-2018.