Opinion ID: 1256160
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Count6 Complaint of Elizabeth Crawford

Text: In July 1999, Ms. Elizabeth Crawford and approximately fifty other people met with Mr. Wheaton to discuss a class action lawsuit regarding possible civil rights infringements. Ms. Crawford tendered a check in the amount of $300.00 to be included in the class and for the filing fees. After several failed attempts to contact Mr. Wheaton regarding the status of the case, Ms. Crawford eventually discovered that no class action suit had been filed. As a result of this misconduct, the Board found Mr. Wheaton violated Rule 1.3 [28] of the Rules of Professional Conduct because he failed to pursue the matter on behalf of Ms. Crawford after she retained his services. The Board also found violations of Rule 1.16 [29] of the West Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct because Mr. Wheaton failed to pursue the matter, failed to withdraw from representation when it was clear he could not, or chose not, to perform the legal services, and failed to refund the advanced payment of the fee that had not been earned.