Opinion ID: 2485199
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Bates Matter

Text: On September 3, 2003, Robert Bates hired respondent to represent him in a personal injury claim stemming from a hit-and-run car accident. Mr. Bates and respondent signed a contingency fee contract the same day. In March 2004, respondent permitted Dominique Johnson, his nonlawyer assistant, to participate in a telephone interview of Mr. Bates by an adjuster for his uninsured motorist carrier, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. In April 2004, respondent's colleague, attorney Melvin Cade, filed a lawsuit on Mr. Bates' behalf against State Farm. [1] In August 2005, State Farm reported Mr. Bates' claim to the Louisiana Department of Insurance as a suspected fraudulent claim. Among other issues raised in the report, State Farm asserted that Mr. Bates initially claimed lost wages of $5,600 from his employment with AA Contracting Services, LLC between July 14, 2003 and September 12, 2003. However, State Farm secured the affidavit of Candice Bates Anderson, Mr. Bates' daughter and the person who purportedly signed the lost wages claim letter on behalf of AA Contracting Services. In the affidavit, Ms. Anderson indicated that she was not an employee of AA Contracting Services, she had no knowledge of how much time Mr. Bates missed from work as a result of the accident, and her signature on the lost wages claim letter was forged. Mr. Bates passed away in October 2006, and respondent was appointed administrator of Mr. Bates' succession. In January 2007, respondent filed an amended petition requesting that he, as the succession's administrator, be substituted as the plaintiff in Mr. Bates' lawsuit against State Farm. In March 2007, in response to State Farm's exceptions to the substitution, respondent filed a pleading requesting that Ms. Anderson, as Mr. Bates' daughter, instead be substituted as the plaintiff. The lawsuit proceeded to trial in May 2007. Judgment was rendered in favor of State Farm, and Mr. Bates' lawsuit was dismissed. The ODC alleged respondent violated the following provisions of the Rules of Professional Conduct: Rules 1.1(a) (failure to provide competent representation to a client), 1.7 (conflict of interest), 1.16(a)(1) (a lawyer shall not represent a client or, where representation has commenced, shall withdraw from the representation of a client if the representation will result in a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct or other law), 3.1 (meritorious claims and contentions), 3.3(a)(b) (candor toward the tribunal), 5.3 (failure to properly supervise a non-lawyer assistant), 8.4(a) (violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct), 8.4(c) (engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation), and 8.4(d) (engaging in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice).