Passadena Atkins, Complainant vs. Mark Warren Respondent
Grievance Complaint #97-0430
DECISION
Pursuant to Practice Book '2-35, the undersigned, duly-appointed reviewing committee of the Statewide Grievance Committee, conducted a hearing at the Superior Court, 95 Washington Street, Hartford, Connecticut on June 4, 1998. The hearing addressed the record of the complaint filed on November 18, 1997, and the probable cause determination rendered by the Fairfield Judicial District Grievance Panel on February 27, 1998, finding that there existed probable cause that the Respondent violated Rules 1.4, 1.15(b), and 5.3(b) of the Rules of Professional Conduct.
Notice of the hearing was mailed to the Complainant and to the Respondent on April 21, 1998. The Complainant did not appear for the hearing. The Respondent appeared and gave testimony.
This reviewing committee finds the following facts by clear and convincing evidence:
The Respondent represented the Complainant in an accident case. The case settled and the Respondent received the settlement proceeds. In spite of his assertion to the contrary, he never paid an outstanding bill the Complainant had with her treating physician, Dr. Eric M. Garver. The Respondent did not reply to the Complainant's repeated attempts to contact him.
This reviewing committee also took into consideration the following:
In his reply to the complaint and in testimony before this reviewing committee, the Respondent asserted that his secretary, during the period of time in question was, unbeknownst to him, embezzling money from him. He testified that he did not discover that Dr. Garver's bill had not been paid until March or April, 1997. By that time, he had fired his secretary. The Respondent testified that as a result of a September 19, 1997 letter that he received from the Complainant, a copy of which the Complainant submitted with her complaint, he contacted Dr. Garver's office, began making payments to Dr. Garver, and made arrangements with him to pay the Complainant's outstanding balance. When asked to produce documentary evidence of this assertion, and in compliance with the subpoena that had been served on him in advance of our hearing, the Respondent testified that he was unable to locate his file. He stated that he could obtain his financial records and would submit them to us after the hearing. By way of an undated letter received on June 16, 1998, the Respondent supplied this reviewing committee with the records he was able to locate regarding the Complainant. The records contain no evidence of any payment made by the Respondent to Dr. Garver, nor evidence of any arrangements he made with Dr. Garver to pay the Complainant's outstanding balance.
It is the opinion of this reviewing committee that there exists clear and convincing evidence that the Respondent has violated Rules 1.4, 1.15(b), and 8.1(1) of the Rules of Professional Conduct. It is clear that the Respondent did not respond to the Complainant's repeated requests for information regarding the bills that she continued to receive from the doctor that she had believed were paid off by the Respondent. There also exists clear and convincing evidence that the Respondent failed to adequately safeguard the proceeds of the settlement by not ensuring that they were properly disbursed to the Complainant's doctor. Finally, it is the opinion of this reviewing committee that there exists clear and convincing evidence that the Respondent knowingly made a false statement of material fact to this reviewing committee, in violation of Rule 8.1(1), in testifying that he had made payments on the Complainant's outstanding bill, that he had made arrangements to pay the balance of the Complainant's bill, and that he would provide us with evidence of the payments and the arrangement. Given the seriousness of the violations, it is our decision that the Respondent be presented to the Superior Court.
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Attorney Robert J. Kor
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Attorney Kerry A. Tarpey
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Ms. Cynthia Oneglia