Attorney Grievance v. Queen

967 A.2d 198

407 Md. 556

ATTORNEY GRIEVANCE COMMISSION OF MARYLAND v. Thomas Howard QUEEN.

Misc. Docket AG No. 54, September Term, 2007.

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

March 12, 2009.

Dolores O. Ridgell, Asst. Bar Counsel (Melvin Hirshman, Bar Counsel, Atty. Grievance Com'n), for Petitioner.

Melvin G. Bergman, Greenbelt, for Respondent.

Argued before BELL, C.J. HARRELL, BATTAGLIA, GREENE, MURPHY, ADKINS and BARBERA, JJ.

MURPHY, J.

Thomas Howard Queen, Respondent, was admitted to the District of Columbia Bar in January of 1968, and to the Maryland Bar on June 6, 1984. On December 11, 2007, the Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland filed a Petition for Disciplinary or Remedial Action in which it asserted that Respondent violated several Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct. On December 14, 2007, this Court ordered that the charges contained in the petition "be heard and determined by Judge Cathy Hollenberg Serrette, of the Seventh Judicial Circuit[.]"

Following a September 4, 2008 hearing in the Circuit Court for Prince George's County, the hearing judge filed FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW that included the following findings and conclusions:

Findings of Fact

The facts underlying the alleged violations are, for the most part, undisputed. The complainant, Maria Abarza, was injured when she tripped on an uneven concrete slab on the grounds of the Prince George's County Justice Center complex in Hyattsville, Maryland, on February 19, 2002. She incurred medical expenses of approximately $5,693.99 as a result of the accident. Ms. Abarza retained Respondent to file a claim. She had been referred by a family member, Linda Williams, Respondent's legal secretary.

Soon after the initial meeting with Ms. Abarza, Respondent visited the scene of the accident, met with Ms. Abarza's daughter, Judge Caldwell, and contacted an expert to evaluate the scene of the accident. On August 8, 2002, Respondent timely placed Prince George's County on notice of the pending claim. In September of 2002, Prince George's County denied liability claiming that the property where Ms. Abarza had fallen belonged to the City of Hyattsville. In October of 2003, Respondent contacted the City of Hyattsville, which in November, 2003, asserted that the property belonged to Prince George's County.

On February 22, 2005, Respondent filed suit against the City of Hyattsville, the Mayor of the City of Hyattsville, the City Council of the City of Hyattsville, the Hyattsville City Police Department and the Prince George's County Government seeking damages of $40,000.00.

On March 31, 2005, Prince George's County filed a Motion to Dismiss asserting that Respondent had identified said Defendant as "Prince George's County Government," (as it had been identified by the County's insurance carrier), rather than "Prince George's County, Maryland," the proper appellation. Respondent failed to correct the misnomer or file an opposition, and on June 22, 2005, the action against Prince George's County was dismissed. The City of Hyattsville filed a preliminary motion denying ownership of the property in dispute. It too was dismissed on June 22, 2005.

On July 22, 2005, Respondent filed a Motion to Set Aside the Dismissal of the Action Entered In Favor of Defendant Prince George's County and For Reconsideration. When the request was denied, Respondent noted an appeal. Appellant's brief was due by April 10, 2006. Respondent failed to submit a brief, and the case was dismissed. Respondent moved for reconsideration on June 19, 2006, and the appeal was reinstated on August 3, 2006. The appeal was again dismissed when Respondent failed to file a brief.

Respondent neglected to inform Ms. Abarza about the trial court's dismissal of the case in June of 2005. In June of 2006, Respondent met with his client and her family and advised them about the status of the case. At that time, Respondent recommended that Ms. Abarza seek independent counsel to pursue a claim against Respondent. Ms. Abarza was provided a packet of the materials from her case to enable independent counsel to assess damages and evaluate the claim against Respondent. Ms. Abarza thereafter hired Attorney Jeffrey Ashin, and on September 27, 2007, Respondent and Ms. Abarza reached a settlement in the amount of $30,000.00. Respondent paid Ms. [Abarza] from his personal assets and did not submit the claim to his malpractice carrier.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

MARYLAND RULES OF PROF'L CONDUCT 1.1 — COMPETENCE

A lawyer shall provide competent representation to a client. Competent representation requires the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation.

* * *

Respondent was negligent in failing to oppose the County's Motion to Dismiss, but appropriately filed a timely request for reconsideration seeking to correctly identify Defendant "Prince George's County, Maryland". When the trial court refused to reconsider, Respondent timely noted an appeal. His inexplicable failure to file an appellate brief after his misstep below was apparently an uncharacteristic oversight endemic to his handling of Ms. Abarza's case.

* * *

In sum, Respondent had the knowledge and skill to handle Ms. Abarza's case. However, the representation lacked adequate thoroughness and preparation in violation of MRPC 1.1.

MARYLAND RULES OF PROF'L CONDUCT 1.3 — DILIGENCE

A lawyer shall act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client.

* * *

... For the same reasons Respondent is deemed to have violated MRPC 1.1, Respondent is deemed to have failed to act with reasonable diligence and promptness in violation of MRPC 1.3.

MARYLAND RULES OF PROF'L CONDUCT 1.4 — COMMUNICATION

(a) A lawyer shall:

* * *

(2) keep the client reasonably informed about the status of the matter;

(3) promptly comply with reasonable requests for information; and

* * *

(b) A lawyer shall explain a matter to the extent reasonably necessary to

permit the client to make informed decisions regarding the representation.

* * *

Respondent denied that he had failed to maintain appropriate communication with Ms. Abarza. He relied, however, in large part, on his paralegal and legal secretary to maintain contact.

* * *

Petitioner failed to establish by clear and convincing evidence that Respondent violated MRPC 1.4.

* * *

MARYLAND RULES OF PROF'L CONDUCT 8.1(b) — DISCIPLINARY MATTERS

[A] lawyer ... in connection with a disciplinary matter, shall not:

(b) knowingly fail to respond to a lawful demand for information from [a] disciplinary authority[.]

* * *

It was not shown by clear and convincing evidence that Respondent knowingly failed to respond to Bar Counsel, and accordingly, a violation of MRPC 8.1(b) was not established.

MARYLAND RULES OF PROF'L CONDUCT 8.4(d) — MISCONDUCT

It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to:

(d) engage in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice.

* * *

Respondent's conduct in the Abarza case appeared to have been an aberration. There was no offense involving moral turpitude, no indication of indifference to legal obligations, no serious interference with the administration of justice, or conduct that would seriously impair public confidence in the profession. In short, Respondent was negligent in his handling of Ms. Abarza's case. He was honest with his client about his mistakes and urged her to hire independent counsel to pursue a malpractice claim [against him]. Upon reaching a settlement, [Respondent] compensated Ms. Abarza from his personal resources without resort to his malpractice carrier.

This Court does not find that respondent violated MRPC 8.4(d).

Mitigation

* * *

Respondent was clearly remorseful. His recommendation to Ms. Abarza that she hire counsel to assert a claim against him while there was a remote possibility that her action against Prince George's County could be revived coupled with his payment to Ms. Abarza without resort to his malpractice carrier evidenced an understanding of his mistakes and a principled effort to ensure that Ms. Abarza was fairly and fully compensated. No selfish motive was shown.

There is no reason to believe that the misconduct will be repeated. Even Petitioner's witness, Linda Williams, testified that Respondent was a workaholic and that his mishandling of Ms. Abarza's case was out of character.

Respondent has historically responded appropriately to inquiries by the Attorney Grievance Commission. After almost forty years of practice, this is the first time that Respondent will be subjected to discipline.

(Emphasis in original; footnotes omitted).

The Commission has (1) taken "exception to the [hearing judge's] failure to find that Respondent violated Maryland Lawyers' Rule of Professional Conduct 1.4, 8.1(b) and 8.4(d)," and (2) recommended that this Court impose "an indefinite suspension with the right to apply for reinstatement no sooner than ninety (90) days from the date of the suspension." Respondent argues that, "under the circumstances of this case, and in light of the strong mitigating circumstances found by the trial Court, and [Respondent's] long unblemished record, ... a public reprimand would be an appropriate sanction in this matter." For the reasons that follow, we shall sustain the Commission's exception as to the 8.1(b) violation, and issue a public reprimand.

Standard of Review

In Attorney Grievance Comm'n v. Ugwuonye, 405 Md. 351, 952 A.2d 226 (2008), this Court stated:

"This Court has original and complete jurisdiction over attorney discipline proceedings" in Maryland. Attorney Grievance Comm'n v. Adams, 349 Md. 86, 93, 706 A.2d 1080, 1083 (1998). Even though conducting an independent review of the record, we accept the hearing judge's findings of fact unless they are found to be clearly erroneous. Attorney Grievance Comm'n v. Zdravkovich, 375 Md. 110, 126, 825 A.2d 418, 427, (2003). This Court gives deference to the hearing judge's assessment of the...