In re Anonymous No. 21 D.B. 82

29 Pa. D. & C.3d 22
CourtSupreme Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJanuary 3, 1984
DocketDisciplinary Board Docket No. 21 D.B. 82
StatusPublished

This text of 29 Pa. D. & C.3d 22 (In re Anonymous No. 21 D.B. 82) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Anonymous No. 21 D.B. 82, 29 Pa. D. & C.3d 22 (Pa. 1984).

Opinion

ELLIOTT, Member,

Pursuant to Pennsylvania Rule of Disciplinary Enforcement 208(d), the Disciplinary Board of The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania (board) submits its findings and recommendations to your honorable court with respect to the above-captioned petition for discipline.

I. HISTORY OF PROCEEDINGS

The Office of Disciplinary Counsel filed a petition for discipline against [Respondent] (respondent) on April 6, 1982, who has a long history of disciplinary recidivism, and is presently serving a 21 month suspension as a result of the 11th separate disciplinary matter filed against him, based cumulatively on a total of 15 separate disciplinary charges found against respondent.1 The present matter now involves 43 new alleged violations (not including those withdrawn at the hearing) from nine separate clients and nine separate disciplinary charges. Respondent repeatedly took money from a client, then became virtually impossible for the client to contact. Respondent does not return phone calls or answer letters; distressingly fails to attend scheduled judicial hearings; and then does not return the unearned money to clients, if at all, until forced to do so by Disciplinary proceedings. Respondent unfortunately abuses the privilege of practicing law to the detri[24]*24ment of his clients. Respondent’s repeated pattern of disciplinary abuses is “prejudicial to the administration of justice” and has repeatedly injured the unsuspecting public.

The instant petition alleged violations of D.R. 1-102(A)(3) and (4) and (6), D.R. 6-101(A)(3), D.R. 7-101(A)(l) and (2) and (3), and D.R. 9-102(B)(3) and (4) in connection with nine separate charges. Respondent filed no answer to the petition for discipline. The parties entered into a stipulation of facts concerning one charge for submission to the hearing committee (Exhibit 1) and hearings were held before a hearing committee on June 11, 1982, September 23, 1982, September 28, 1982, October 20, 1982, November 2, 1982 and April 22, 1983.

The opinion of the hearing committee was filed on August 11, 1983. The committee found that respondent had violated D.R. 9-102(B)(3) which requires an attorney to maintain complete records of all funds, securities and other properties of a client coming into possession of a lawyer and to render appropriate accounts to the client regarding them (Charge I); D.R. 6-101(A)(3) which prohibits an attorney from neglecting a legal matter entrusted to him (Charge V), and D.R. 7-101(A)(l) which prohibits an attorney from intentionally failing to seek the lawful objections of a client through reasonably available means permitted by law and Disciplinary Rules (Charge V). No other violations alleged in the petition were found. The committee, however, noted that respondent was already serving a two-year suspension for similar violations of the Disciplinary Rules and recommended that no further discipline be imposed.

[25]*25II. STATEMENT OF FACTS

Each of the separate disciplinary actions are reviewed individually.

A. Charge I: [A]

[A] (“[A]”) was a defendant in the case of [A’s wife] v. [A], C.P. No. [ ] ([ ] County), February term, 1973, an equity action involving partition of and title to certain real estate which plaintiff and defendant owned (Findings of Fact paragraphs 1, 2). On or about October 21, 1973, [A] retained respondent to represent him in the aforesaid proceeding and paid respondent $500 as a retainer fee. Respondent neither requested nor received from [A] any additional fee for his professional services. (Findings of Fact paragraph 3, 4).

In or about December, 1975, [A] paid respondent $4,000 in anticipation of [A] purchasing his wife’s interest in the real estate which was the major subject of the aforesaid proceeding. (Findings of Fact paragraph 5). Between April 18, 1979 and September 11, 1979, [A] paid respondent additional sums of money totaling $7,801.69 (including the $4,000 payment referred to in above). This money was intended to complete the court ordered settlement by which [A] was to purchase his wife’s interest in the real estate referred to above. (Findings of Fact paragraph 6). Respondent kept all of the funds given to him by [A] at respondent’s home until on or about August 22, 1980 when he instructed his daughter, [B], to take [A’s] money and deposit it in a safe deposit box at a [ ] County Bank. This safe deposit box was in respondent’s daughter’s and wife’s names. (Findings of Fact paragraph 7).

Although [A] gave respondent a total of $7,801.69 to conclude the settlement with his wife, the settlement which was the subject of a 1975 court order was never concluded. After paying the money to re[26]*26spondent, [A] had difficulty getting in touch with respondent who repeatedly failed to return phone calls. Respondent also failed to respond to several letters sent to him by [A]. Respondent failed to attend a hearing in the matter in March, 1981. Finally, respondent returned the $7,801.69 to [A] only after a Disciplinary Inquiry was started and a hearing scheduled. Even then, respondent forced [A], a man with a manifest reading disability, to sign a statement purportedly expressing satisfaction with respondent’s handling of the case before he returned the client’s money. Respondent never told [A] what was done with the money while it was in respondent’s possession.

B. Charge II: [C]

The petition for discipline charged respondent with accepting a retainer from [C] (“[C]”) without informing [C] at the time of accepting the retainer that respondent was suspended from the practice of law, and failing or refusing to return the unearned fee. [Petition for Discipline paragraphs 33-45).

[C] had been arrested for murder by The [ ] Police Department (10/20/82 Transcript at pp. 125-25). He called respondent on July 6, 1981 to represent him and respondent set up an appointment that day. (10/20/82 Transcript at p. 126). At that meeting, respondent told [C] he would represent him, and he needed a $1,000 retainer to start the case (10/20/82 Transcript at p. 126). At that time, respondent had already received a copy of this court’s June 22, 1981 order suspending him from the practice of law effective July 22, 1981. [C] paid the retainer and respondent agreed to take the case. Respondent did not tell [C] that he had been suspended from the practice of law, despite the fact that a preliminary hearing on [C] was scheduled for July 24, 1981, two days after respondent was to start [27]*27his suspension. Respondent attended the July 24, 1981 preliminary hearing, which was eventually postponed, after his suspension by order of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court was already effective. He did not tell [C] at that time that he was suspended and could not represent him. Respondent never told [C] he was suspended but told him another lawyer, Attorney [D], would represent him. Respondent told [C] he would charge him $500 for obtaining Attorney [D] and return the remaining $500. Respondent never returned any of the $1,000. [C] used another attorney for his trial.

Charge III: [E]

The petition for discipline charges that respondent had agreed with [E] to represent her son in a criminal matter prior to his suspension from the practice of law. (Petition for Discipline Paragraph 36). Prior to the date of his suspension, respondent allegely failed to respond to [E’s] requests for information on the status of the case. (Petition for discipline Paragraph 54).

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Related

Office of Disciplinary Counsel v. Grigsby
425 A.2d 730 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1981)
Office of the Disciplinary Counsel v. Campbell
345 A.2d 616 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1975)

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29 Pa. D. & C.3d 22, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-anonymous-no-21-db-82-pa-1984.