Opinion ID: 1256160
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Count2 Complaint of Pamela D. Mason

Text: Ms. Pamela D. Mason retained Mr. Wheaton to pursue a discrimination claim in May 1997, and tendered $500.00 to him. After Ms. Mason's many attempts to contact Mr. Wheaton regarding the status of her case, Mr. Wheaton sent a letter dated January 15, 1999, stating he had filed suit and enclosed a copy of the signed complaint. Ms. Mason filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code, where she listed as an asset an interest in the claim being pursued on her behalf by Mr. Wheaton. Mr. Wheaton was appointed as special counsel in the bankruptcy claim to pursue the discrimination claim on behalf of the bankruptcy estate. He then filed an affidavit with the bankruptcy court and enclosed a copy of the complaint that he earlier had sent to Ms. Mason. After many attempts to get information from Mr. Wheaton, the bankruptcy trustee contacted the circuit court where Ms. Mason's civil action allegedly had been filed by Mr. Wheaton. The bankruptcy trustee discovered that, in fact, no civil action had ever been filed, and further, that any action would now be time barred as the applicable statute of limitations had run. Mr. Wheaton then failed to appear at several hearings before the bankruptcy court and failed to respond to the bankruptcy trustee's further requests for information. On November 26, 2001, an adversary proceeding was filed against Mr. Wheaton in bankruptcy court. A partial motion for summary judgment was granted as to liability, and a later hearing on damages was held on September 12, 2003. By order entered October 23, 2003, the bankruptcy court ordered judgment against Mr. Wheaton to be paid to Ms. Mason's bankruptcy estate in the amount of $45,000.00. Based upon Mr. Wheaton's misconduct related to Ms. Mason, the Board found that Mr. Wheaton violated Rule 1.3 [8] of the Rules of Professional Conduct by failing to pursue a matter for which he was retained and by falsely representing that he had filed a civil action when, in fact, he had not. The Board also found a violation of Rule 1.16 [9] of the Rules of Professional Conduct as a result of Mr. Wheaton's failure to adequately pursue the matter and his failure to withdraw from the case when it was clear that he could not, or chose not, to perform the legal services. Moreover, the Board found that Mr. Wheaton failed to refund the advance payment of the fee which was paid but not earned. Additionally, the Board found that Mr. Wheaton violated Rule 1.4 [10] by failing to return his client's phone calls, failing to provide her with sufficient information to participate in decisions, failing to advise her that he had not filed a civil action on her behalf, failing to advise her that the statute of limitations had run on her claim, and failing to fulfill reasonable client expectations for information consistent with the client's best interests. The Board also found that Mr. Wheaton's dilatory practices and failure to make reasonable efforts to further litigation resulted in a violation of Rule 3.2. [11] Furthermore, the Board found that Mr. Wheaton falsely indicated that a civil action had been filed when, in fact, none had, in violation of Rule 8.4. [12] Lastly, Mr. Wheaton failed to reduce his contingency fee agreement to writing in violation of Rule 1.5(c). [13]