Opinion ID: 2601926
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 12

Heading: Respondent Advised Pain and Suffering Claim Abated upon Death

Text: On or about April 28 or 29, 2005, Respondent spoke with attorney Greg Gold about the Bourelle case. Respondent often worked with Mr. Gold, a trial attorney, on cases that he was unable to settle. Respondent respected Mr. Gold's counsel and judgment. After Respondent described the Bourelle case, Mr. Gold advised him that the claim for pain and suffering abated when Bourelle died, under Colorado law. [7] The parties stipulated that this was the first time that Respondent realized Bourelle's death affected the claim for damages, specifically the damages for pain and suffering. [8] After learning that he could not claim damages for pain and suffering on behalf of a deceased client, Respondent received a letter from Safeco, which included an offer to settle the Bourelle matter for $31,765.00. [9] This settlement offer did not specifically detail what part of the $31,765.00 offer, if any, represented damages for pain and suffering. Safeco's letter also included a release from liability for Bourelle to sign upon his acceptance of Safeco's check in the amount of $31,765.00 sent under separate cover. Respondent never negotiated the settlement check, but instead kept it in his office. After receiving the check from Safeco, a paralegal from Respondent's office sent a fax on or about July 25, 2005, to Bourelle's brother, Mark, in California enclosing the release from liability that Safeco sent to Respondent and a closing settlement statement prepared by Respondent's office. [10] In the closing settlement statement, the client received $12,579.29 as his net payment after subtracting advanced costs, medical expenses, and attorney's fees of one-third. After receiving the settlement statement and release on July 25, 2005, Mark Bourelle called Respondent's office. He spoke with a member of Respondent's staff about the release. Mark Bourelle and his family questioned whether it would be proper for them to sign the release for Bourelle. As a result of their concern, Mark Bourelle contacted Safeco and advised them that Respondent had provided them with the release and had asked them to sign it. Neither Mark Bourelle nor Safeco advised Respondent of this call. Furthermore, there is no evidence that Respondent otherwise learned of Mark Bourelle's call to Safeco. The parties stipulate that shortly after sending the closing settlement statement to Mark Bourelle, Respondent formed a belief that Bourelle's family was not taking action to probate his estate, either formally or informally, Bourelle's father was not acting as the executor of the estate, the family had not and apparently could not reach an agreement as to the disposition of the estate, and as a result, Bourelle's father was not in a position to sign the release on behalf of the estate as he earlier understood was the case. At that point, Respondent considered commencing a probate action in Colorado. On August 11, 2005, nearly three weeks after Mark Bourelle called Safeco, Respondent sent a letter to Safeco informing them for the first time that Bourelle had died. Respondent also wrote that he would hold the settlement check until a probate estate was set up in Colorado and a personal representative had been appointed for his deceased client. [11] In this letter, however, Respondent indicated that Bourelle had died subsequent to the settlement reached with Safeco. This statement was not true and Respondent was aware that it was not true. Safeco never answered Respondent's letter dated August 11, 2005. Shortly thereafter, however, Safeco commenced an investigation of Respondent's conduct in the settlement of Bourelle's claim. On November 7, 2005, Respondent's paralegal sent Respondent a message on his electronic case management system stating that an investigator from Safeco wanted to interview Respondent and the paralegal who prepared certain correspondence in the Bourelle settlement negotiations. [12] However, Respondent would not agree to meet with Safeco's investigator. This is the first time that Respondent or his office knew of an investigation by Safeco into the Bourelle matter. On November 10, 2005, Respondent sent another letter to Safeco. [13] In this letter, Respondent wrote that he had recently learned that his client passed away on February 8, 2005. This statement was not true and Respondent was aware that it was not true. Respondent also inquired of Safeco as to how they would like to proceed with the settlement and that he still held the check in anticipation that an estate would be set up by the Bourelle family. Again, for some time, Safeco never responded to Respondent. On February 15, 2006, Safeco requested the return of the settlement funds and Respondent sent them back on February 16, 2006. Safeco ultimately agreed to settle the case for $14,187.07. [14] Safeco's investigator attempted to obtain a statement from Respondent, but he refused when Safeco's investigator refused to state the purpose of the investigation. [15]