Opinion ID: 2500868
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Darlington/Florence County Matter

Text: Respondent represented his father as the plaintiff in a matter captioned Dickey v. Holloway, 1999-CP-16-0346, which was pending in Darlington County and appeared on the roster for the week of March 5, 2001. Respondent also represented the plaintiff in a matter captioned Arthur v. Sexton Dental Clinic, et al., 1998-CP-21-684, which was pending in Florence County and appeared on the roster for the week of March 5, 2001. On Thursday, March 1, 2001, opposing counsel in the Florence County case called Respondent to inform him the case was on the roster but was not ready for trial. On the morning of Friday, March 2, 2001, Respondent called the office of the Honorable Paul M. Burch, the presiding judge in Florence County, and spoke with the judge's law clerk. Respondent informed the law clerk that the Florence County case was not ready for trial. Written notice of the continuance in the Florence County case was faxed to Respondent at 11:20 a.m. that same day with a message that stated: Please be advised that Judge Burch has GRANTED your request for a continuance beyond March 2001 for the following matters: 98-CP-21-684, Arthur v. Sexton Dental Clinic et al. Kindly advise the other counsel and the Clerk of Court for this continuance. Because Respondent did not recall receiving this fax, he testified he only had a good faith belief that it would be continued. On the same day, Respondent sent a letter to the Honorable Sidney Floyd, the presiding judge in Darlington County, concerning the roster meeting scheduled for March 5, 2001. The letter, which was clocked as filed by the Clerk of Court at 4:29 p.m. on March 2, 2001, stated that Respondent had a conflict because the Florence County and Darlington County cases were both scheduled for trial or motions during the week of March 5, 2001. The letter further stated that the Arthur v. Sexton Dental Clinic et al., was a Trial-3/5/01. On Monday, March 5, 2001, Respondent appeared for the roster meeting in Darlington County even though opposing counsel failed to appear. The testimony is divergent as to what transpired during the roster meeting. Respondent testified that he told Judge Floyd that he was ready to proceed to trial in Dickey v. Holloway. A former Darlington County Clerk of Court employee also testified that Respondent appeared and said he was ready for trial. Additionally, the Darlington County roster sheets for the week of March 5, 2001 contained handwritten notations that appeared to support the testimony of Respondent and the Darlington County Clerk of Court employee. In contrast, the Darlington County Clerk of Court testified that Respondent told Judge Floyd that he could not try the Darlington County case as the Florence County case was scheduled for trial and he was selecting a jury that day. [7] The Clerk further testified that once it was determined that the Florence County case was not scheduled for trial, Judge Floyd ordered Respondent to appear on Wednesday, March 7, 2001, to proceed to trial on Dickey v. Holloway. Because Respondent did not appear on March 7, Judge Floyd dismissed the case for failure to prosecute. In his defense, Respondent explained that he fell ill on the night of March 6 and was unable to return to work until March 15. As corroborative evidence, Respondent offered a doctor's excuse dated March 9, 2001. Respondent also offered into evidence an affidavit, which was filed with the Darlington County Clerk of Court's office on April 6, 2001, wherein he stated that when he became ill he notified the Darlington County Clerk of Court's office on March 7, 2001, and requested continuances on all of his pending cases. The affidavit stated that due to Respondent's illness, he was unable to work until March 27, 2001. The former Darlington County Clerk of Court employee also testified that Respondent appeared ill when he attended the March 5, 2001 roster meeting. She further testified that on March 6, 2001, she was instructed by the Darlington County Clerk of Court to notify opposing counsel in Respondent's cases (scheduled for the week of March 5, 2001) that Respondent would be absent and that they should appear to have their cases dismissed.