Opinion ID: 1256160
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Count5 Complaint of Edward K. Pruden, Sr.

Text: Mr. Edward K. Pruden, Sr., retained Mr. Wheaton to represent him in a wrongful termination case and tendered $150.00. When Mr. Wheaton informed Mr. Pruden that negotiations were not proceeding as planned, Mr. Pruden tendered an additional $150.00 for filing fees. After several failed attempts to contact Mr. Wheaton regarding the status of his case, Mr. Pruden received a letter from Mr. Wheaton dated July 5, 2000, wherein he indicated he had unilaterally rejected a proposed settlement offer in the amount of $5,000.00. The letter also indicated that mediation was the best way to proceed and that the Court had removed the case from its docket. At some later point, Mr. Pruden read an article in the newspaper about Mr. Wheaton's problematic representation of Ms. Margo Bruce. Mr. Pruden went to the courthouse and discovered that no civil action had ever been filed on his behalf. Mr. Pruden filed a complaint with the ODC, and, following an investigation, the Board found that Mr. Wheaton violated Rule 1.3 [23] 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 that Mr. Wheaton violated Rule 1.4 [24] by failing to return his client's phone calls, failing to provide Mr. Pruden with sufficient information to participate in decisions, failing to advise him that he had not filed a civil action on his behalf, and failing to fulfill reasonable client expectations for information consistent with the client's best interests. Moreover, Mr. Wheaton's unilateral rejection of a proposed settlement offer, without advising Mr. Pruden of the same, violated Rule 1.2(a) [25] of the Rules of Professional Conduct. The Board additionally found a violation of Rule 1.16 [26] of the Rules of Professional Conduct by Mr. Wheaton's failure to adequately pursue the matter and by his failure to withdraw when it was clear that he could not, or chose not, to perform the legal services for which he had been retained. Finally, the Board found Mr. Wheaton violated Rule 8.4 [27] of the Rules of Professional Conduct because he misrepresented to his client that a civil action had been filed and, furthermore, that the court had removed the case from its docket.