Opinion ID: 1167668
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Sieg Matter

Text: In July 1985, Helga Sieg retained petitioner to handle a landlord/tenant dispute on behalf of herself and her corporation. Sieg was an officer and shareholder in a closely held corporation which operated a restaurant on leased property. The restaurant operated from May 1984 until June 1985, at which time it ceased doing business. The corporation had fallen behind in the rent and received in July 1985 a notice of belief of abandonment from the landlord. Sieg retained petitioner to preserve the lease. Though petitioner informed her that he responded to the notice, the hearing panel found that petitioner created the response after the fact to make it appear that he had responded. In August, Sieg informed petitioner that the landlord had changed the locks on the premises. Petitioner told Sieg that she was entitled to possession and requested that she come to his office. Thereafter, however, petitioner refused to make an appointment or to return her phone calls. Through August and September 1985, petitioner failed to respond to Sieg's several inquiries concerning the status of her case and her request for all documents pertaining to the matter. In September, Sieg and the corporation filed for bankruptcy. Sieg retained a different attorney, Anna Segura, to handle the bankruptcy proceeding. Through February and March of 1986, petitioner failed to respond to Segura's numerous attempts to obtain Sieg's case file. Finally, in an effort to obtain the file, Segura had a subpoena duces tecum issued for petitioner's deposition. Petitioner failed to appear for the deposition and failed to respond to a subsequent written request for the file. In May 1986, the bankruptcy court, at Segura's request, issued an order to show cause why petitioner should not be held in contempt for his failure to appear at the deposition. On the recommendation of the bankruptcy court, the United States District Court in September 1986 adjudged petitioner to be in contempt and issued a warrant for his arrest. In October, the bankruptcy court awarded fees and costs against petitioner for his failure to obey the subpoena. (The State Bar Court found that petitioner had wilfully failed to pay said fees and costs.) The following month, petitioner was arrested pursuant to the warrant. Shortly after his arrest, petitioner delivered the file to Segura. By his conduct in the Sieg matter, the State Bar Court found that petitioner had wilfully violated rules 2-111(A)(2) [9] and 6-101(A)(2) and sections 6068 and 6103.