Opinion ID: 2063200
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Property Damage Case

Text: 1. In January of 1973, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Trettel consulted respondent with respect to a two-car collision which occurred on December 24, 1972, between the vehicle owned and operated by Miss Marcella Trutwin of Morrison County, Minnesota, and the Trettel vehicle operated by their son, Edward, then 21 years, in which their other son, Gregory, then 18 years, was a passenger. Respondent agreed to make a claim for the damage to their automobile and to handle the claims of their sons for personal injury. Respondent thereafter met separately with Edward and received information relative to his injuries which respondent noted in his file   . Respondent informed the Trettels that he would go ahead and start working on the claims. 2. Late February 1973, respondent represented to the Trettels that the automobile damage case would be coming up for trial that Fall and that he would file suit immediately. In the meantime, and before September 1973, respondent informed the Trettels that he was negotiating with the attorney for Miss Trutwin, and assured Mr. Trettel several times that the case would be coming on for trial in August or September in the District Court in Little Falls, Minnesota. 3. On October 1, 1973, ten months after receiving the matter, respondent caused to be served on Miss Trutwin a summons and complaint venued in Freeborn County, not Morrison County. Adverse counsel promptly answered and requested estimates of car damage. Although respondent had two estimates in his file, he ignored the request for six months. Also received with the answer were interrogatories which respondent completely ignored. During the 14 months which he handled the matter, respondent made no attempt to resolve the case except to write one letter   , and draft and serve said summons and complaint. 4. On about April 26, 1974, Mr. Trettel, dissatisfied with the lack of progress by and the lack of information from respondent, proceeded to check out respondent's repeated assertions that he was merely waiting to hear from the Morrison County Clerk of District Court in Little Falls, Minnesota, as to the date of trial. On said last date, Mr. Trettel wrote said clerk, and in answer thereto said clerk informed Mr. Trettel that no action concerning the matter had been filed in his office. A few days following the receipt of said letter, one of the Trettels contacted respondent and, without mentioning the checking in Little Falls, inquired about the case. Respondent thereupon related that he had written the clerk in Little Falls to obtain a date for trial and that it would be tried in three to four weeks. The fact was that, though the summons and complaint had been served on October 1, 1973, the case had not been filed in any court. 5. Mr. Trettel testified without contradiction that respondent failed to return any of his six or more telephone calls he made to secure information. 6. Respondent was discharged by the Trettels in all matters in the latter part of April, 1974.