Opinion ID: 2060466
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The State Farm Matter.

Text: In addition to their claim against Nationwide, Wheaton and Smith hoped to collect $5000 each under Wheaton's own auto insurance policy, which provided coverage up to that amount for medical expenses. Wheaton's insurer, State Farm, had paid over $2000 to her and $637 to Smith, but the company refused to reimburse for further medical expenses because they did not appear to have been incurred as a result of the accident. Wheaton asked respondent to assist them in this regard. Respondent contacted State Farm as early as October 1987. A series of telephone calls between respondent and a State Farm representative culminated in a July 1988 threat to sue if further medical payments were not made to Wheaton and Smith. Respondent testified that he did not pursue the matter further, however, because State Farm had raised legitimate questions about his clients' pre-existing conditions and whether the accident caused the injuries for which they sought treatment, questions that might have compromised the more valuable claim against Nationwide. Yet even after the 1989 settlement with Nationwide, respondent took no further action to pursue the State Farm matter for over three years, until September 1992. [3] He did not contact any representative of State Farm during that time. Without informing Wheaton or Smith, however, respondent filed a complaint on their behalf against State Farm in a West Virginia court on September 3, 1992. Respondent was not admitted to practice law in West Virginia, but he accompanied his complaint with a motion for admission pro hac vice. State Farm filed a motion to dismiss for improper venue, insufficiency of process, and insufficient service of process, and a motions hearing was scheduled for December 16, 1992. State Farm requested a continuance to allow the parties to pursue informal discovery and attempt to negotiate a settlement. That month, December 1992, State Farm's counsel made a written offer to pay Wheaton and Smith the full amount prayed for. Respondent did not respond to the settlement offer and did not return telephone calls from State Farm's counsel.