Opinion ID: 2446066
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The File Transfer

Text: After June 23, 2003, Morse agreed to transfer the file for the estate to Mize's new attorney. On October 3, after making repeated requests, and receiving assurances from Morse that he would transfer the file, Sennott's paralegal sent an email to Mize in which she stated, in part: It is with much regret that I have to inform you that . . . [Morse] still hasn't gotten the file to us. I've tried daily. I've made appointments with him to pick it up and he calls and cancels at the last minute because he's out of paper, the copier isn't working, or one excuse after another. Three days later, Morse transferred the file. In a letter to Morse dated September 5, 2003, the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration (DRA) asked for additional information to process a tax return it had received for the McInnes estate. Subsequently, Morse received another letter from the DRA informing him that, because he had failed to send the requested documentation, it made an audit adjustment based on its file. Although the letter stated that Morse had until November 17 to voice his disagreement with the adjustment, Morse failed to respond or to notify successor counsel of the letter. The estate was closed in March 2004, and, as a result of Morse's failure to adequately close out the estate, it incurred approximately $8,000 in legal fees to successor counsel, in addition to fees paid to Morse.