In re Lober

204 P.3d 610, 288 Kan. 498, 2009 Kan. LEXIS 75
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedApril 3, 2009
DocketNo. 101,212
StatusPublished
Cited by197 cases

This text of 204 P.3d 610 (In re Lober) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Lober, 204 P.3d 610, 288 Kan. 498, 2009 Kan. LEXIS 75 (kan 2009).

Opinion

Per Curiam:

This is an original uncontested proceeding in discipline filed by the office of the Disciplinaiy Administrator against Terence A. Lober, of Leavenworth, Kansas, an attorney licensed to practice law in Kansas since September 1979. A formal complaint was filed on May 13, 2008.

On July 1, 2008, a hearing on the formal complaint was held before a hearing panel of the Kansas Board for Discipline of Attorneys. Respondent did not appear, either in person or by counsel.

After hearing the evidence presented at the hearing, the hearing panel concluded that Respondent violated six rules of professional conduct:

KRPC 1.1 (2008 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 400) (competence);

KRPC 1.2 (2008 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 411) (scope of representation);

KRPC 1.3 (2008 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 415) (diligence);

KRPC 1.4(a) (2008 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 432) (communication);

KRPC 3.2 (2008 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 525) (expediting litigation); and

KRPC 8.4(d) and (g) (2008 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 586) (misconduct).

In addition, the hearing panel found that Respondent violated Kansas Supreme Court Rule 211(b) (2008 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 313) (failure to respond to the formal complaint).

The panel unanimously recommended that Respondent be disbarred. The panel made the following findings of fact, conclusions of law, and recommendations for discipline:

[499]*499"FINDINGS OF FACT
“The Hearing Panel finds the following facts, by clear and convincing evidence:
“2. In early 2005, [A.W.] and [C.W.] were considering purchasing a duplex in Leavenworth, Kansas, from Juanita Simpson. While touring the duplex, [A.W.] and [C.W.] noticed a label marked ‘lift station’ adjacent to a breaker in the breaker box. According to [A.W.] and [C.W.], they questioned Ms. Simpson regarding the reference. Ms. Simpson stated that she was unsure why the breaker was labeled lift station as there was no lift station connected to the house. Ms. Simpson indicated that there was a sump pump and that the reference to the lift station must refer to the sump pump.
“3. [A.W.] and [C.W.] retained a company to conduct an inspection of the property. The inspector examined the property. The inspector informed [A.W.] and [C.W.] that there was no lift station, but that the reference must refer to the sump pump.
“4. [A.W.] and [C.W.] purchased the property. The disclosure statement, completed by Ms. Simpson’s realtor, Drehr Lesini, and signed by Ms. Simpson, did not include any reference to the lift station and did not include the documentation regarding the repairs made to the fifi station.
“5. After they purchased the property, [A.W.] and [C.W.] discovered that the sewer system of the home was connected to a lift station and could not be otherwise connected to the city’s sewer system.
“6. [A.W.] and [C.W.] located a receipt from All American Carpet Cleaning inside the duplex that established that the sewer backed up into the basement and Ms. Simpson paid to have the carpet cleaned. Further, [C.W.] contacted the real estate company that was involved with the sale of [the] duplex to Ms. Simpson from the previous owner. [C.W.] obtained a copy of the disclosure statement provided to Ms. Simpson at the time she purchased the home. In the disclosure statement, the previous owners disclosed the existence of the lift station to Ms. Simpson.
“7. In August, 2005, [A.W.] and [C.W.] retained the Respondent to represent them in an action for the failure to disclose the existence of [a] lift station. [A.W.] and [C.W.,] and the Respondent entered into a written contingency fee agreement. The fee agreement provided that the Respondent would receive 25% of any amounts collected. Additionally, the fee agreement provided that the Respondent would receive additional fees based upon the hours of time he put into the case. Finally, the fee agreement stated that the Respondent would bill [A.W.] and [C.W.] in quarter hour increments.
“8. On December 13, 2005, the Respondent filed suit against Ms. Simpson in behalf of [A.W.] and [C.W.]. Ms. Simpson was served with process and, on January 18, 2006, Ms. Simpson answered the Petition.
“9. Thereafter, on August 15, 2006, the Respondent took Ms. Simpson’s deposition. During her deposition, Ms. Simpson testified that she owned the home [500]*500for approximately three years. She testified that she knew of the existence of the hit station, that she disclosed the existence of the lift station to her realtors, and that her realtors indicated that they would provide appropriate documentation regarding the repairs on the lift station to [A.W.] and [C.W.J’s realtor. During the three years that she owned the property, Ms. Simpson paid approximately $4,000 for repairs made to the lift station.
“10. Ms. Simpson’s realtors did not disclose the existence of the lift station to [A.W.] and [C.W.J’s realtors nor did Ms. Simpson’s realtors provide [A.W.J and [C.W.J’s realtor with a copy of the documentation relating to the repairs on the hit station.
“11. On February 22, 2006, the Court held a case management conference in [A.W.J and [C.W.J’s case. [A.W.J, the Respondent, Ms. Simpson, and her attorney, Kelly Egli appeared in person. The Court entered a case management order and thereby ordered the parties to file their witness and exhibit list by March 31, 2006, complete discovery by May 26, 2006, file all pretrial motions by June 9, 2006, and appear for pretrial motions hearing on July 14, 2006. Finally, the Court scheduled die trial for August 28, 2006.
“12. On July 13, 2006, because the parties had failed to comply with the Court’s case management order, the Court met with the Respondent and Ms. Egli. At that time, the Respondent announced that he wanted to add additional defendants to the action. The Court directed the Respondent to file an amended petition by July 21, 2006.
“13. On July 21, 2006, the Respondent filed a motion to amend the petition and an amended petition, adding Ms. Simpson’s realtors, Ms. Lesini and Steven Bloecher, and real estate company, American Eagle Realty, as defendants. The Respondent failed to provide Ms. Egli with a copy of the motion. While the Respondent obtained service on Ms. Lesini and American Eagle Realty, the Respondent did not achieve service on Mr. Bloecher.1
“14. After approximately April, 2006, the Respondent failed to return [A.W.J and [C.W.J’s telephone calls. [A.W.J attempted to see the Respondent, but the Respondent refused to see him. Because the Respondent would not communicate with [A.W.J and [C.W.], they were unable to discover the status of their case.
“15. Thereafter, on May 9, 2007, the Court granted default judgment on Count One of the petition against American Eagle Realty and Ms. Lesini.2
[501]*501“16. On July 17, 2007, [A.W.] and [C.W.] filed a complaint with the Disciplinary Administrator’s office against the Respondent. Robert B. Van Cleave, an attorney, was appointed to investigate the complaint.
“17.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
204 P.3d 610, 288 Kan. 498, 2009 Kan. LEXIS 75, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-lober-kan-2009.