In Re a Member of the Bar of the State: McCann

669 A.2d 49, 1995 Del. LEXIS 392, 1995 WL 710388
CourtSupreme Court of Delaware
DecidedNovember 27, 1995
Docket122, 1994
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 669 A.2d 49 (In Re a Member of the Bar of the State: McCann) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re a Member of the Bar of the State: McCann, 669 A.2d 49, 1995 Del. LEXIS 392, 1995 WL 710388 (Del. 1995).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

This matter is before the Court for final disciplinary action upon review of the February 3, 1995 Final Report and the March 7, 1995 Supplement to the Final Report (collectively, “the Report”) of the Board on Professional Responsibility (the “Board”). The respondent, Richard S. McCann (“McCann” or “Respondent”) is a member of the Bar of this Court, having been admitted to practice in 1964. The Board found that McCann violated certain of the Delaware Lawyers’ Rules of Professional Conduct (the “DLRPC”) and recommended as a sanction a public reprimand plus a two-year period of probation with conditions.

McCann contends that there was no clear and convincing evidence before the Board to support a conclusion of any violation of the DLRPC. In the alternative, McCann contends that, if the Court should affirm the Board’s conclusions, the Board’s recommended discipline should be approved.

The Office of Disciplinary Counsel (the “ODC”) contends that the Board was correct in finding that certain of the DLRPC were violated, but that the Board erroneously failed to find other violations. McCann ar *52 gues that, since the ODC did not “cross-appeal,” this Court may not review the decision of the Board not to find those violations. The ODC further contends that the violations found here warrant “a severe public sanction such as suspension or disbarment.”

The violations of the DLRPC found by the Board are supported by the evidence and should be sustained on review. Those findings, therefore, are AFFIRMED. As to McCann’s contention that this Court may not consider the ODC’s argument that the Board erroneously refused to find certain other violations, we hold that this Court is not precluded from considering and reversing the Board’s refusal to find certain violations in a proper case, even in the absence of a “cross-appeal.” We do not find, however, any error in the Board’s refusal to find certain violations of the DLRPC which are urged in this Court by the ODC. Accordingly, those findings are AFFIRMED.

As to the sanction to be imposed by this Court for the violations found by the Board and sustained herein, this Court may exercise its own judgment and is not bound by or limited to the Board’s recommendation. Based on this record, the Court has concluded that a significant suspension is warranted and the sanction recommended by the Board is inadequate and inappropriate. Accordingly, IT IS THE JUDGMENT OF THIS COURT that Respondent will be SUSPENDED from the practice of law for a period of not less than one year, commencing on January 1, 1996. Reinstatement will be considered upon any application filed by McCann after December 31, 1996, provided he has complied with the conditions for reinstatement imposed herein.

I. THE FACTS

McCann operates a volume neighborhood law practice handling approximately 2500 legal transactions a year. This consolidated disciplinary proceeding arose out of three separate legal matters handled by McCann in 1990,1991 and 1992.

A. Board Case No. 1, 1992 — The Monroe Appeal

In the summer of 1991, McCann represented Beatrice Monroe (“Monroe”) in an appeal to the Delaware Supreme Court (the “Monroe Appeal”). On August 28,1991, the Court issued the briefing schedule in the Monroe appeal, notifying McCann that he had until September 23, 1991 to file Monroe’s opening brief.

After failing to receive either the Monroe opening brief or any type of written or oral request for an extension, the Assistant Clerk of the Court issued a delinquency notice (the “Notice”) to McCann on September 24, 1991, directing him to file the Monroe opening brief within seven days. The Notice also informed McCann that if he did not comply immediately, the Court might resolve the matter against Monroe and take disciplinary action. McCann neither responded to the Notice, nor did he file the opening brief or a request for an extension.

On October 4, 1991, McCann filed a request for an extension of time until October 11, 1991 to file Monroe’s opening brief and appendix. The Court granted McCann’s request on October 7, 1991. Nevertheless, as of October 15, 1991, McCann still had not filed Monroe’s opening brief, and the Assistant Clerk issued a second delinquency notice directing McCann to file Monroe’s brief and appendix within seven days. The second Notice, like the first Notice, warned McCann of the possible consequences of failing to file Monroe’s brief.

After more than seven days elapsed and McCann still had failed to file Monroe’s opening brief, opposing counsel moved to dismiss the Monroe appeal. On October 30, 1991, the Court issued a notice giving McCann twenty days to show cause why the Court should not impose sanctions against him for failing to comply with the Court’s previous notices. Upon receipt of this Notice to Show Cause, McCann called the Court, spoke with the Court Clerk, and asked for guidance. McCann testified that, as a result of this conversation, he erroneously believed that he had to file Monroe’s brief and answer the Court’s Notice to Show Cause by November 24, 1991. On November 21, 1991, the Court granted the motion to dismiss, since McCann *53 had failed to respond in a timely fashion, and referred the matter to the ODC.

On November 27, 1991, McCann filed a motion to vacate and a request for another extension. On December 12,1991, the Court struck McCann’s motion as a nonconforming paper, and denied his request for lack of good cause. At this point, McCann finally notified Monroe that the Court had dismissed her appeal.

McCann claims that his failure either to submit Monroe’s opening brief or respond to the Court’s notices stems from a debilitating allergy from which he was suffering and his subsequent response to allergy medication. McCann, however, was not hospitalized during this period and continued to work at his office, handle other cases and claims and answer telephone calls and correspondence.

B.Board Case 38, 1992 — The Bow Estate

McCann represented Mr. Gerald and Mrs. Frances L. Bow on various matters, including the preparation of their wills before they moved from Delaware to Florida in 1982. Mr. Bow died in 1982, and McCann continued to provide legal service and advice to Mrs. Bow without compensation. McCann did this because of his friendship with Mr. and Mrs. Bow. This friendship was so close that Mrs. Bow referred to him as a “nephew” and he referred to her as “aunt,” although there was no family relationship.

In 1985, Mi’s. Bow obtained Florida counsel to prepare a will, pursuant to which Mrs. Bow left ten percent of her estate to her “friend” McCann. McCann was not aware of this version of Mrs. Bow’s will at the time. In 1990, Mrs. Bow contacted McCann to update portions of her will. At Mrs. Bow’s request, McCann changed Mrs. Bow’s reference to him in her will from “friend” to “nephew” and named himself as Mrs. Bow’s personal representative. The ten percent bequest in the 1985 will was continued in the 1990 will. A few months after she executed the will, Mrs. Bow died.

McCann retained Florida counsel and McCann executed a Petition for Administration (the “Petition”). The Petition, which contained a declaration that its contents were certified by McCann as true under penalty of perjury, referred to McCann as Mrs.

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Bluebook (online)
669 A.2d 49, 1995 Del. LEXIS 392, 1995 WL 710388, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-a-member-of-the-bar-of-the-state-mccann-del-1995.