In re Singleton

41 P.3d 836, 273 Kan. 171, 2002 Kan. LEXIS 79
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedMarch 8, 2002
DocketNo. 87,966
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 41 P.3d 836 (In re Singleton) 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 Singleton, 41 P.3d 836, 273 Kan. 171, 2002 Kan. LEXIS 79 (kan 2002).

Opinion

Per Curiam:

This is an original proceeding in discipline filed by the office of the Disciplinary Administrator against Stan R. Singleton, of Derby, an attorney admitted to the practice of law in Kansas.

Complaints filed against the respondent alleged that the respondent violated KRPC 1.3 (2001 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 323) (diligence); KRPC 1.4 (2001 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 334) (communication); KRPC 1.5 (2001 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 345) (fees); and KRPC 1.15 (2001 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 376) (safekeeping property).

A hearing was held before a panel of the Kansas Board for Discipline of Attorneys. The respondent appeared in person and through counsel, G. Craig Robinson, and the Disciplinary Administrator’s office appeared by Frank D. Diehl, Deputy Disciplinary Administrator.

Based upon clear and convincing evidence, a unanimous hearing panel made the followings findings of facts and conclusions of law:

“FINDINGS OF FACT
“1. Stan R. Singleton (hereinafter ‘the Respondent’) is an attorney at law. . . . His last registration address with the Clerk of the Appellate Courts of Kansas is . . . Derby, Kansas .... The Respondent was admitted to the practice of law in the State of Kansas on September 14, 1978.
“Wilson Case: DA76S9
“2. The Respondent prepared a will for Henry Wilson in June, 1997. Thereafter, on August 5, 1997, Henry Wilson passed away. Hemy Wilson was survived by four children: Guy Marc Wilson, Karen Beem, Debra Wilson, and Lori Hemsley. Pursuant to Henry Wilson’s will, Guy Marc Wilson was to serve as Executor of the will.
[172]*172“3. After Heniy Wilson’s passing, Guy Marc Wilson contacted the Respondent and requested that the Respondent represent him in probating Henry Wilson’s will. The Respondent agreed.
“4. Although the Respondent obtained entries of appearances and waivers from Heniy Wilson’s daughters in March, 1998, the order admitting the will to probate was not filed until August, 1998. Additionally, because of the Respondent’s delay in obtaining the order admitting the will to probate, Guy Marc Wilson did not have the authority to open a checking account, cash life insurance policies, and pay Heniy Wilson’s bills. The expenses from the funeral home remained unpaid for two years, resulting in an interest penalty to the estate in the amount of $1,189.42. The Respondent failed to file the Inheritance Tax Return, IH-90, until two years after Henry Wilson’s death. As a result, interest in the amount of $56.37 accrued against the estate. Finally, Henry Wilson’s personal property remained in storage for more than two years.
“Sinn Case: DA7707
“5. In March, 1998, John L. Sinn was charged with two counts of rape. As a result of plea negotiations, Mr. Sinn entered a no contest plea to aggravated indecent liberties with a child. After being sentenced, Mr. Sinn became dissatisfied with the representation of his counsel. Through his mother, Maiy Hahner, Mr. Sinn retained the Respondent. The Respondent was retained to file and prosecute a motion to modify sentence and an appeal.
“6. The Respondent filed and prosecuted a motion to modify sentence. After due consideration, the Court denied the motion. Thereafter, the Respondent filed a notice of appeal. It took the Respondent some amount of time to obtain the transcripts of the plea and sentencing hearings and the police reports. After the Respondent reviewed the transcripts and reports, the Respondent determined that an appeal would be futile. Accordingly, the Respondent allowed the appeal to be dismissed on the state’s motion.
“7. The Respondent failed to discuss with Mr. Sinn his conclusion that an appeal would be futile. The Respondent failed to notify Mr. Sinn that the state had filed a motion to dismiss. Finally, the Respondent failed to inform Mr. Sinn that the appeal had been dismissed.
“8. The Respondent did communicate with Ms. Hahner in an office consultation. Ms. Hahner recorded this conversation and presumably relayed the recorded statement to Mr. Sinn. However, the Respondent failed to contact Mr. Sinn following the meeting with Ms. Hahner.
“Stevens Case: DA7843
“9. During the summer months of 1998, Jennifer Stevens retained the Respondent to represent her in the Municipal Court of Wichita, Kansas, on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol. In August, 1999, the Respondent entered his appearance.
“10. The case was resolved by plea and the matter was scheduled for sentencing. Prior to the sentencing, Ms. Stevens was required to appear for an interview for [173]*173the pre-sentence investigation. However, the letter the Respondent sent to Ms. Stevens was sent to an old address and she did not receive it. After Ms. Stevens learned that she had missed the appointment, the matter was rescheduled and she made herself available for the interview.
“11. Prior to sentencing, Ms. Stevens telephoned the Respondent’s office. At that time, Ms. Stevens learned that the Respondent was ill. Ms. Stevens was informed that a continuance may be sought if the Respondent remained ill. However, Ms. Stevens had already made arrangements to be away from work and did not wish to continue the sentencing hearing.
“12. At the time of the sentencing hearing, January 19, 2000, the Respondent failed to appear due to illness. In his stead, the Respondent asked Jim Wilson to appeal. Mr. Wilson did appear in behalf of the Respondent for Ms. Stevens.
“13. Throughout the representation, Ms. Stevens placed numerous telephone calls to the Respondent. The Respondent failed to return a number of her telephone calls.
“Durham Case: DA7871
“14. On August 10, 1996, Bobbie Durham was injured in an automobile accident. Ms. Durham contacted the Respondent and hired him to represent her. The Respondent and Ms. Durham entered into a contingency fee agreement.
“15. The Respondent reached a settlement agreement to the satisfaction of Ms. Durham. In January, 1998, the Respondent received the settlement proceeds. The Respondent and Ms. Durham agreed to deposit $11,510.98 into the Respondent’s trust account for payment of medical bills owed by Ms. Durham, associated with the automobile accident.
“16. Ms. Durham provided the Respondent with the medical bills that needed to be paid with the $11,510.98, that had been deposited in the Respondent’s trust account. A dispute about the actual amount owed arose and, as a result, Columbia Wesley Medical filed suit. Eventually, the Respondent settled the collections case with Columbia Wesley Medical to Ms. Durham’s satisfaction. As a result of the settlement, the Respondent forwarded $11,000, to counsel for Columbia Wesley Medical, from his trust account for the settlement on April 27, 2000.
“17. The Respondent failed to return Ms. Durham’s telephone calls and failed to adequately inform Ms. Durham regarding the Columbia Wesley Medical law suit.
“18. The Respondent failed to inform Ms.

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Related

In Re Singleton
111 P.3d 630 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2005)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
41 P.3d 836, 273 Kan. 171, 2002 Kan. LEXIS 79, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-singleton-kan-2002.