Opinion ID: 2777288
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Count 3 – The Edwards Complaint

Text: Steven Edwards paid Mr. Rossi $1,500.00 on April 20, 2011, to represent him in a divorce matter. Mr. Edwards filed a complaint against Mr. Rossi with the ODC on February 3, 2012, alleging that Mr. Rossi had failed to take any action in his case and that Mr. Rossi had failed to communicate with him about the case. Prior to filing his complaint with the ODC, Mr. Edwards sent Mr. Rossi the following email in December 2011: I wrote you a check for the amount of $1,500.00 on April 20, 2011 as you requested for a retainer fee. You have not provided any services for me yet. I have left numerous messages on your cell and business phones and you refuse to return my calls. I have never heard of a divorce taking 9 months, especially when we [Mr. Edwards and his spouse] already have an agreement wrote up and there is nothing to contest. I requested a refund via a phone message and again I have not heard from you. I need this refund so I can hire someone who will provide this service for me. If I don’t hear from you by tomorrow evening I am filing a complaint with the WV State Bar Association. After receiving Mr. Edwards’s complaint, the ODC sent letters to Mr. Rossi in February and March 2012, requesting that he respond to the complaint. Mr. Rossi failed to respond to the ODC’s February and March letters. Mr. Rossi eventually responded to Mr. Edwards’s complaint by letter dated May 1, 2012, stating that he had worked on the case and that he met with Mr. Edwards on several occasions. Despite his assertion that he had performed work on the case, Mr. Rossi agreed to refund the $1,500.00 retainer fee to Mr. Edwards. 7 On December 14, 2012, the Investigative Panel of the Board issued Mr. Rossi an admonishment for failing to respond to the ODC’s repeated requests that he respond to Mr. Edwards’s complaint, in violation of Rule 8.1(b) of the Rules of Professional Conduct (see footnote 6, supra).8