Opinion ID: 1909158
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: bdn 139-01

Text: On March 30, 2001, Superior Court Judge Kaye Christian found that respondent had breached her fiduciary duties as court-appointed guardian and conservator for Ms. Hinton. Judge Christian removed respondent from the Probate Division's fiduciary lists and panels and referred her to Bar Counsel. The referral, docketed as BDN 139-01, alleged acts that may constitute misconduct under the Rules. On April 11, 2001, Bar Counsel sent the complaint of misconduct to respondent at her address listed with the District of Columbia Bar, requesting a response by April 23, 2001. On that date, respondent sent a facsimile informing Bar Counsel of her new mailing address [8] and requesting a thirty-day extension of time in which to respond to the complaint. The following day, Bar Counsel sent a letter to respondent at her new address by facsimile and by first-class mail, agreeing to her request for an extension of time until May 23, 2001, to respond to the complaint. Respondent did not submit her response by May 23, 2001. On May 31, 2001, Bar Counsel sent another letter to respondent at her new address, requesting her to respond to the complaint by June 5, 2001. No response was received, and Bar Counsel's letter was not returned. On July 26, 2001, Bar Counsel filed a motion with the Board on Professional Responsibility to compel a response to the complaint. A copy of the motion was mailed to respondent at her new address. No response was filed. On August 30, 2001, the Board issued an order compelling respondent to answer the complaint within ten days. The order was mailed to respondent at her new address. No response was received and the order was not returned. As of the first scheduled hearing date, February 26, 2002, respondent still had not responded to the complaint or the Board's order. Respondent appeared at the hearing, however, and stated that she was not prepared because she had been through an extensive amount of family hardship, including her own illness, that of both her parents, and the recent death of her father. The hearing was continued to March 28, 2002, at which time respondent signed a joint stipulation of fact regarding the history of her failure to respond to Bar Counsel's correspondence. The focus of the proceeding having shifted to respondent's non-cooperation with the investigation, the underlying complaint of ethical misconduct lodged by Judge Christian was not addressed at the hearing.