Opinion ID: 2600199
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: In re Crandall

Text: ¶ 30 Notwithstanding authorization from the RLDD, Sonnenreich argues, and the district court agreed, that our decision in In re Crandall, 784 P.2d 1193 (Utah 1989), precludes the OPC from seeking to discipline attorneys who practice while administratively suspended. The OPC counters that the district court erred in its interpretation of Crandall, and we agree. ¶ 31 In Crandall, the Bar sent a letter to attorney Crandall stating that he had been dropped from the roll of qualified attorneys authorized to practice law for failing to pay his yearly licensing fee in accordance with rule XX of the Procedures of Discipline. [12] Id. at 1195. Crandall claimed the nonpayment was the result of a misunderstanding with his bookkeeper regarding the time payment was due. Id. Although Crandall contacted the Bar and offered to hand-deliver his delinquent fee, he was told that he would have to submit the delinquent fee, accompanied by a written request for acceptance, to the Bar Commission's executive committee. Id. Crandall submitted his request in May; however, review of the request was deferred twice until a full meeting of the executive committee occurred near the end of August. Id. In the time between Crandall's tender of dues and the executive committee meeting in August, Crandall was required to appear before a Bar hearing panel to address his failure to submit reports for a separate matter that predated his failure to pay fees. Id. Although Crandall argued in that hearing that he had been unable to file the monthly reports due to his indefinite suspension and the Bar's refusal to reinstate him, the Bar panel nonetheless recommended Crandall be suspended retroactively for his failure to file the reports. Id. ¶ 32 On appeal, Crandall challenged rule XX, arguing that [i]t allow[ed] the Bar, after suspending an attorney for failure to pay the annual licensing fee, to continue suspension for reasons other than the failure to pay the fee after the attorney [had] tendered his or her delinquent fee. Id. at 1195-96. We agreed with Crandall and stated, there is no logical connection between an attorney's failure to pay his or her licensing fee and claimed unfitness to practice law. Id. at 1196. The district court relied upon this language in holding that the Bar was not authorized to bring the complaint. The district court reasoned that [b]y premising Sonnenreich's violation of [r]ule 5.5, which forbids practicing while suspended, on an administrative suspension, the Bar [was] doing exactly what [this] Court forbade in Crandall.  ¶ 33 In relying on this statement, the district court overlooked our further clarification that [t]he suspension of attorneys for failure to pay the license fee is necessary and appropriate, and that what we objected to in Crandall was the Bar's ability to refuse reinstatement after the delinquent fee is paid for a reason unrelated to the initial suspension. Id. We explained that this extension of the administrative suspension, which allowed the Bar to further discipline attorneys for action taken during the suspension, was an objectionable end-run approach to the other procedures necessary for disciplining attorneysnot that the Bar was foreclosed from seeking to discipline attorneys who practiced while administratively suspended. See id. Hence, in this case, the Crandall situation never arose because Sonnenreich was immediately reinstated after submitting the annual licensing fee plus the $100 late fee. The OPC did not seek to penalize Sonnenreich by capitalizing on circumstances that were unrelated to the reason for her suspension, as in Crandall; rather, it sought disciplinary action against her for practicing while administratively suspended. ¶ 34 While there may be no direct connection between an attorney's failure to pay the Bar's annual licensing fee and an unfitness to practice law, there is no question that an attorney may be disciplined for continuing to practice law while administratively suspended. See RLDD 8(b) (Any attorney who shall practice law while suspended for nonpayment of the license fee violates the Rules of Professional Conduct and may be disciplined for practicing while suspended for non-payment of dues.). The more difficult issue is what type of notice an attorney must receive before he or she may be so disciplined.