Opinion ID: 2569696
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Prater Complaint

Text: In this personal injury case, Sachse represented Travis Prater, 7 years old. Travis was hit by a car while his family was visiting at the home of a family friend, Rick Moore. On May 20, 1997, Sachse filed a lawsuit in the name of Debbie Prater as mother and next friend of Travis. The petition alleged that the driver of the car, Michael Stacer, was negligent and that Moore, who was supervising Travis at the time of the accident, was negligent in his supervision. In the petition, Sachse requested that the statue of limitations be extended 8 years pursuant to K.S.A. 60-515(a), allowing a person to bring an action within 1 year of the age of majority but no more than 8 years after the time of the act giving rise to the cause of action. Sachse testified at the hearing before the panel that he personally served Stacer and Moore with the petition and summons. He acknowledged, however, that there was no return of service as to Stacer or Moore in the district court file. In October 1997, Stacer answered the petition and filed three discovery requests: interrogatories, request for production of documents, and a statement of damages. Counsel for Stacer, Clifford Mueller, served Sachse with the discovery requests. Sachse did not respond to the discovery requests. On November 11, 1997, Mueller sent a letter to Sachse, informing Sachse that he would file a motion to compel if the information was not provided. Mueller received no response from Sachse and, on December 5, 1997, he filed a motion to compel discovery. On January 8, 1998, Sachse filed a statement of monetary damages in the amount of $100,000. Sachse made no other response to the discovery requests. On January 9, 1998, the district court conducted a scheduling conference. Sachse was ordered to respond to Stacer's discovery requests within 10 days. Sachse was also ordered to identify his expert witness and provide the expert's narrative report within 30 days. Sachse failed to comply with the orders and, on February 17, 1998, Stacer moved the court to dismiss the case. The case against Stacer was dismissed without prejudice on April 20, 1998. Sachse failed to appear at the hearing on the motion to dismiss. A pretrial conference in the Stacer case had been scheduled for June 18, 1998. The Praters rented a car to travel from their home in Abilene to Kansas City for the pretrial conference. When they arrived at the courthouse in Kansas City, they contacted Sachse who met them at the courthouse and apologized for not advising them that the pretrial conference had been canceled. Sachse gave the Praters $100 for the car rental. Sachse failed to contact the Praters after that date regarding their case. On October 15, 1998, the Praters complained to the Disciplinary Administrator, describing their frustration at appearing for a court date that had been canceled. They complained that they had called Sachse repeatedly asking for progress reports on the case, but Sachse had failed to respond to their inquiries. The Praters learned from the office of the Disciplinary Administrator that their case against Stacer had been dismissed on April 20, 1998. In Sachse's answer to the Disciplinary Administrator's formal complaint, he explained that after reviewing the Prater case, he determined that there would be little or no liability on the part of Moore, who had been supervising Travis at the time of the accident. In an effort to maximize damages, Sachse suggested that the Praters wait to see if Travis required further medical attention, which, if the medical expenses increased, might persuade the defendants to settle even with little or no liability on their part. Sachse stated in his answer to the Disciplinary Administrator's complaint that when Travis did not undergo further medical treatment, he filed a suit to preserve the statute of limitations. Stacer, represented by counsel, answered the petition, and Moore defaulted. Sachse further stated that the Praters had made it clear to him that they did not want to pursue an action against Moore individually. Because Sachse assumed that Moore had no homeowner's insurance and because the Praters did not have the financial resources to incur expenses in the case, he allowed the case against Moore to go unprosecuted. Sachse admitted at the hearing before the panel that he failed to actually ascertain whether Moore had homeowner's insurance. During the investigation by the Disciplinary Administrator, Sachse requested permission to meet with the Praters. The Disciplinary Administrator permitted the meeting. At the meeting on December 31, 1998, Sachse discussed the prospects of getting judgment against Moore or Stacer. He told them that he had personally served both defendants and had noted that Stacer did not appear to have any resources and that Moore had stated he had no homeowner's insurance. When the Praters expressed disbelief that Moore had no homeowner's insurance, Sachse asked the Praters for a week to resolve the matter. The Praters never heard from Sachse regarding whether Moore was insured. The Praters testified at the hearing before the panel that at no time did Sachse tell the Praters that their case against Stacer had been dismissed on April 20, 1998. The complaint filed by the Disciplinary Administrator alleged that throughout the representation of the Praters, Sachse failed to keep the Praters advised as to the status of the case and failed to diligently pursue the matter. Although Sachse disputes some of the facts asserted in the formal complaint, he admits the violations alleged in the complaint.