In re Grooms

123 A.3d 976, 2015 D.C. App. LEXIS 440, 2015 WL 5172898
CourtDistrict of Columbia Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 3, 2015
DocketNo. 13-PR-1513
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 123 A.3d 976 (In re Grooms) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District of Columbia Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Grooms, 123 A.3d 976, 2015 D.C. App. LEXIS 440, 2015 WL 5172898 (D.C. 2015).

Opinion

FARRELL, Senior Judge:

Christina C. Forbes, the permanent guardian for ward Ayo Grooms, appeals from the trial court’s order granting in part her motion for enlargement of time1 to file an untimely petition for compensation under D.C.Code § 21-2060(a) (2012 Repl.). Appellant contends that the trial judge, in allowing only a portion of her compensation claims, abused his discretion by basing his conclusion largely, if not entirely, on appellant’s delay in filing her compensation request, thereby minimizing (or ignoring) other factors relevant to whether her untimeliness stemmed from “excusable neglect.” We affirm.

I.

Appellant became Ms. Grooms’ general permanent guardian on August 4, 2005, replacing Ms. Grooms’ mother. As guardian, one of appellant’s statutorily imposed duties was to file a semi-annual report on the “condition of the ward and the ward’s estate.” D.C.Code § 21-2047(a)(5). After becoming guardian, appellant failed to file the report timely on twelve occasions. Because Ms. Grooms has no assets or estate, appellant’s compensation for services provided is drawn from the Guardianship Fund, a taxpayer-funded source established by D.C.Code § 21-2060(b). From 2005 to 2008, appellant filed three separate petitions for compensation; her third petition, filed in November 2008, covered a three-year period and was untimely,2 but the trial court granted the motion to late-file and awarded 100% of the requested compensation.

On October 6, 2013, appellant again filed a motion for enlargement of time in which to petition for compensation. The accompanying petition sought $13,029 for services rendered and expenses incurred from August 20, 2008, to August 23, 2013. In support of her motion, appellant asserted “what she generally always says in defense of delays in filing compensation petitions,” ia, that “the day to day work of serving the needs of her wards and clients takes priority over preparing and filing petitions for compensation.” Appellant attested to having carried a “large caseload,” but noted that she “was working mightily to reduce the delay in filing.”

The trial court granted appellant’s petition “only in part,” ruling that it would “consider one year of counsel’s petition for [978]*978five years,” but not more. The judge found that appellant’s reasons for delay “[were] nothing more than her services to many clients, commendable though that may be”; they did not justify “a delay of ... [five years]” in requesting compensation. Indeed, appellant had previously filed an .untimely petition that “cited only the same reasons for delay as the current petition.” Moreover, this was “not counsel’s only rule violation: [h]er filing of guardianship reports ha[d] been the subject of delinquency notices TWELVE times in this case,” as late as 2011.3 Thus, in the trial court’s view, appellant’s cited “reasons [did] not constitute good cause or excusable neglect, for the - amount :of time involved,” and “[i]f counsel has too many cases to comply with the court’s rules, she should start-declining requested appointments.”4 Ultimately the court approved $2,603.00 in compensation, explaining that while “[t]he sanction here is stiff,” it “appears necessary to get counsel’s attention, preserve the court’s integrity, and provide ongoing — and continuous — supervision of incapacitated persons.”

ii.

This court has jurisdiction to review the compensation order. See In re Orshansky, 952 A.2d 199, 208 (D.C.2008) (quoting Super. Ct. Prob, R. 8(d)(4)) (holding that “[a]n ‘order granting or denying [guardianship] compensation’ is ... a final order for purposes of appeal”). Our review of the order is for abuse of discretion. In re Al-Baseer, 19 A.3d 341, 345 (D.C. 2011); see In re Estate of Yates, 988 A.2d 466, 468 (D.C.2010) (quoting Super. Ct. Civ. R. 6(b)(2)). Appellant concedes that her petition in question was untimely, thus requiring her to demonstrate that “excusable neglect” caused her delay, Al-Baseer, 19 A.3d at 345, a standard that “permits a court, where appropriate, to accept late filings-” Yates, 988 A.2d at 468 (quoting Pioneer Inv. Servs. Co. v. Brunswick Assocs. Ltd. P’ship, 507 U.S. 380, 388, 113 S.Ct. 1489, 123 L.Ed.2d 74 (1993)).

A “run of the mill situation[ ]” involving untimeliness, however, does not give rise to excusable neglect. Admasu v. 7-11 Food Store # 11731G/21926D, 108 A.3d 357, 361 (D.C.2015) (citation omitted). Rather, appellant had to show “lack of knowledge of entry of a judgment, extraordinary circumstances such as physical disability or unusual delay in transmission of the mail, or unique [extenuating] circumstances.” In re Ak.V., 747 A.2d 570, 574 (D.C.2000) (internal quotation marks omitted). In turn, before deciding whether that standard was met, the trial court had to consider “the danger of prejudice to other parties, the length of delay and its potential impact on judicial proceedings, the reason for the delay, including whether it was within the reasonable control of the movant, and whether the movant acted in good faith.” Yates, 988 A.2d at 468 (quoting Pioneer Inv. Servs. Co., 507 U.S. at 395, 113 S.Ct. 1489). Although the trial judge’s order here did not expressly analyze each of the ’Pioneer factors; he nonetheless made “an informed choice in denying appellant’s motion,” and because that “determination was based upon and drawn from a firm factual foundation,” id. (citation and internal quotation marks omitted), we find no abuse of discretion.

We consider first, as did Judge Wolf, the “danger of prejudice to other parties.” [979]*979Yates, 988 A.2d at 468 (citation omitted). Appellant argues that the harm resulting from her untimeliness fell “virtually entirely on [her],” since -it was she who suffered the delay in receiving compensation. But the danger of prejudice went well beyond appellant’s own circumstances and potential harm to herself. The public at large has an interest in the timely filing and resolution of petitions for compensation, since the compensation is drawn from a taxpayer-funded source when the ward’s estate has been depleted. D.C.Code § 21-2060(a). Thus, as the District of Columbia points out in its helpful submission as ami-cus curiae,5 “a delayed petition for compensation may unjustifiably shift the obligation to pay guardian compensation from the ward to the Guardianship Fund, in contravention of the Guardianship Act” (Memorandum by the District of Columbia as Amicus Curiae Supporting Affirmance at 17).6

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Bluebook (online)
123 A.3d 976, 2015 D.C. App. LEXIS 440, 2015 WL 5172898, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-grooms-dc-2015.