Attorney Grievance Commission v. Sperling

69 A.3d 478, 432 Md. 471, 2013 WL 3359298, 2013 Md. LEXIS 448
CourtCourt of Appeals of Maryland
DecidedJuly 5, 2013
DocketMisc. Docket AG No. 82
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 69 A.3d 478 (Attorney Grievance Commission v. Sperling) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Attorney Grievance Commission v. Sperling, 69 A.3d 478, 432 Md. 471, 2013 WL 3359298, 2013 Md. LEXIS 448 (Md. 2013).

Opinion

BATTAGLIA, J.

Jonathan Sperling, Respondent, was admitted to the Bar of this Court on June 24, 1998. On February 16, 2012, the Attorney Grievance Commission (“Bar Counsel”), Petitioner, acting pursuant to Rule 16-751(a),1 filed a “Petition for Disciplinary or Remedial Action” against Jonathan,2 relative to his representation of Victoria Brunson-Hill as the plaintiff in an automobile accident case.

In July of 1998, Jonathan had been a practicing attorney for approximately one month when Ms. Brunson-Hill retained the law firm of Sperling and Framm, in which Leonard Sperling, Jonathan’s father, was a partner, to represent her after she had been struck by an automobile in a public parking lot in Prince George’s County. On November 30,1998, Sperling and Framm filed suit on Ms. Brunson-Hill’s behalf in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, naming Greta Renee Frank as the defendant. Jonathan Sperling, although having never entered his appearance, was responsible for the day-to-day tasks in the case, such as attending pre-trial conferences, drafting discovery, and engaging and interacting with a process server. Ms. Frank was never served, and on October 22, 1999, the suit was dismissed.

Subsequently, in March of 2000, Leonard Sperling filed a Motion for Reconsideration of Dismissal, which was granted on April 3, 2000. A pre-trial conference was scheduled for May 5, 2000, but Ms. Frank, yet to be served, failed to appear, and the conference was rescheduled for August 4, 2000, and again [476]*476for September 29, 2000. When no one appeared for the latter of the conferences, the case was again dismissed, although Ms. Brunson-Hill was never informed of the dismissal.

On February 22, 2008, Ms. Brunson-Hill e-mailed Jonathan to inquire about the status of her case, to which he responded by e-mail three days later that the case was “still making its rounds with the clerk and she assures me she is working on it.” Ms. Brunson-Hill was not told that her case had been dismissed, even though Jonathan became aware of the dismissal sometime prior to sending his response to Ms. Brunson-Hill.

Thereafter, on April 11, 2008, the Sperling Law Office, as it was then known, filed a Motion to Re-open Case. That pleading stated in pertinent part:

That Plaintiffs counsel has been in constant contact with the clerk’s office, reported the events that had transpired ■within the Court and was told the matter would be looked into and fixed and that Plaintiffs counsel should, “not worry, it would be fixed.”

The Motion also asserted “[t]hat the clerk’s office did not fix the error, despite assurances to the contrary, and as a result the case was closed.” The Motion further stated that “Plaintiffs counsel has a good idea of where the Defendant is and if the matter were re-opened, Plaintiffs counsel would be able to proceed with due haste in completing this matter.” Jonathan attached an affidavit to the Motion to Re-open Case in which he attested that “I am familiar with this matter and that all statements made in the Motion are correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.”

On May 5, 2008, the Sperling Law Office filed a Supplemental Motion to Re-open Case. That motion reiterated the statements regarding “constant contact” with the clerk’s office, that the clerk’s office assured plaintiffs counsel that the situation would be fixed, and that plaintiffs counsel had a good idea where the defendant was located. Again, Jonathan attached a verified affidavit to the Supplemental Motion to Re-open Case, attesting that he was “familiar with this matter and that all [477]*477statements made in the Motion are correct to the best of my knowledge.” Jonathan also asserted in the affidavit that he “contacted the clerk’s office on numerous occasions, explaining the error and was assured on numerous occasions the matter would be fixed and re-opened.” Both Motions were denied.

Ms. Brunson-Hill filed a complaint with Bar Counsel regarding Jonathan’s handling of her case. Bar Counsel charged Jonathan with violations of the Maryland Lawyers’ Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1 (Competence),3 1.2(a) (Scope of Representation and Allocation of Authority Between Client and Lawyer),4 1.3 (Diligence),5 1.4(a)(1)-(3) and (b) (Communication),6 3.1 (Meritorious Claims and Contentions),7 3.3(a)(1) [478]*478and (a)(4) (Candor Toward the Tribunal),8 4.1(a)(1) (Truthfulness in Statements to Others),9 and 8.4(a), (c), and (d) (Misconduct).10

By an Order dated February 22, 2012, we referred the Petition to Judge Judith C. Ensor of the Circuit Court for Baltimore County. Judge Ensor held a hearing on August 14, 2012, during which Ms. Brunson-Hill, Jonathan Sperling, Leonard Sperling, and Samuel Sperling testified. Documentation of communications between Ms. Brunson-Hill and Jonathan was entered into evidence as well as the deposition of Loretta E. Knight, who was the manager of the civil department of the Clerk’s Office in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County from 1990 until 2006, at which time she was elected Clerk of the Circuit Court for Montgomery County. Judge Ensor issued the following findings of fact and conclu[479]*479sions of law, in which she found Jonathan violated Rules 1.1, 1.3, 1.4(a) and (b), 3.3(a), and 8.4(a), (c), and (d), but did not violate Rule 1.2:

FINDINGS OF FACT[11]
Jonathan graduated in December, 1997, from the University of Maryland School of Law, passed the bar on his first attempt, and was sworn in as a member of the Maryland Bar on June 24, 1998. Since that time, he essentially has worked for his father, Leonard Sperling. When Jonathan first began with the firm, it was known as Sperling and Framm. In 2003, the practice became known as the Sperling Law Firm, P.C. Since joining his father’s firm, Jonathan has maintained a general practice; he has represented clients in both the civil and criminal arenas.
Jonathan had been practicing law for roughly four weeks when Victoria Brunson-Hill (sometimes “Ms. BrunsonHill”) initially met with Leonard Sperling in late July, 1998. At that time, Ms. Brunson-Hill retained Leonard Sperling and the law firm of Sperling and Framm to represent her in connection with a claim for personal injuries. Leonard “signed her up” with the firm and filed suit on Ms. Brunson-Hill’s behalf on November 30, 1998. The suit was filed in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, named Greta Renee Frank (sometimes “Ms. Frank”) as a defendant, and sought damages as a result of injuries sustained on July 12, 1998. More specifically, in the complaint, it was alleged that, while walking at or near a parking lot located in Prince George’s County, Ms. Brunson-Hill was struck by a vehicle driven by Ms. Frank. Ms. Brunson-Hill claimed to have been permanently injured as a result of the incident. She sought $945,000 in damages and requested that the matter be tried before a jury.
The clerk’s office sent notice on December 1, 1998, that the matter was scheduled for a settlement/pre-trial confer[480]*480ence on March 5, 1999. As Ms. Frank had not been served and was not present, the conference was postponed and reset for October 22, 1999.

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69 A.3d 478, 432 Md. 471, 2013 WL 3359298, 2013 Md. LEXIS 448, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/attorney-grievance-commission-v-sperling-md-2013.