Opinion ID: 1057635
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Enrique Lopez Matter

Text: Enrique Lopez hired Sneed to pursue a claim against the United States arising out of the federal government's seizure of $19,790 from Lopez at the Nashville International Airport in 2002. Lopez's claim was denied because it was untimely filed. He complained to the Board that Sneed failed to keep him informed about the case, failed to appear for scheduled meetings, and failed to pursue his claim with diligence and promptness. Further, Sneed represented two other individuals (Fernando Funtes and Migel Herrera) in the same matter without explaining to Lopez the potential conflict of interest. Before the Panel, Sneed admitted that he had represented all three claimants to the seized money and that he did not disclose his potential conflict of interest to any of them. The Panel concluded that Sneed failed to pursue Lopez's claim for the seized money with diligence and promptness in violation of RPC 1.3. The Panel also found that because Sneed represented Lopez simultaneously with other individuals having claims to the seized money, he should have explained to his clients the potential conflict of interest as required by RPC 1.7. [5] The Panel also determined that Sneed was guilty of professional misconduct under RPC 8.4.