Opinion ID: 2514007
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Tracy Welsh-McAlexander

Text: On March 19, 1997, Tracy Welsh hired Rumsey to facilitate a divorce between herself and her husband, Tom Welsh. Rumsey and Tracy entered into an Agreement for Representation in Civil Procedure (Agreement). At that time, Tracy paid Rumsey a retainer of $700 by writing him a check from her checking account. Rumsey deposited the entire retainer in his operating account rather than his trust account the next day. When Tracy hired Rumsey, she had been living with her mother in Douglas County for approximately 8 months. Tracy had moved from the marital residence in Leavenworth County, leaving the couple's five children with her husband, Tom. Although Tracy did not reside with the children, she visited them every other weekend and every Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Immediately before hiring Rumsey, Tracy assumed residential custody of the children because their teachers reported that they were uncared for and the school had sent them home with head lice. Tracy asked Rumsey to file the divorce action in Douglas County. However, without advising Tracy about the venue options, Rumsey told her that he could only file the action in Leavenworth County because the children had resided there for the previous 6 months. Rumsey further indicated that he knew the judge in Leavenworth County and implied that he had some persuasion over him. Although Tracy was concerned about the distance to Leavenworth County, she succumbed to Rumsey's authority as an attorney and agreed to file the divorce action in Leavenworth County. Tracy and her husband incurred a substantial amount of debt during their marriage. When the divorce was filed, Tracy was working at a minimum wage job and her husband would not maintain consistent employment. Tracy's mother, Nell Trefz, financially supported Tracy by paying for her living expenses and giving her money from time to time, including the money for Rumsey's retainer. Because of Tracy's financial condition, Rumsey recommended that she file for bankruptcy. Rumsey was concerned that Tracy would be unable to pay his bills and that any payments she made might be disputed by the bankruptcy trustee, so he asked Trefz to sign the Agreement and to pay all of his bills directly to him rather than through Tracy. Rumsey added a signature line to the Agreement for Trefz and submitted it to Tracy with a note requesting that it be returned immediately with Trefz' signature. Trefz refused to sign the Agreement but paid some of Rumsey's bills directly from her checking account. During the course of Tracy's representation by Rumsey, she and Trefz paid Rumsey $8,144, including $2,772.60 for travel time and mileage to Leavenworth County. In addition, Tracy paid $1,530 to Dr. John Spiridigliozzi for a custody evaluation, $400 for a guardian ad litem, $160 for a mediator, and $1,930 for a bankruptcy attorney. In April 1998, Tracy and Trefz ceased payment on Rumsey's bills. In July 1998, without withdrawing as Tracy's attorney, Rumsey filed a petition against Tracy and Trefz in the Douglas County District Court, seeking a judgment for $4,469.49 and prejudgment interest. Following a hearing, the district court granted Trefz' motion for summary judgment on the claim that Trefz was directly liable for Rumsey's bills as a contracting party. The district court sanctioned Rumsey and ordered him to pay $250 of Trefz' attorney fees pursuant to K.S.A. 2002 Supp. 60-211 for failing to make a factual investigation before filing the petition or for ignoring the facts discovered during his investigation. Due to Tracy's bankruptcy, the remainder of the allegations in Rumsey's petition remain unresolved. At the time of the hearing before the Hearing Panel (Panel), the case was still pending in the Douglas County District Court. Rumsey told the Panel that he would dismiss the action as part of his probation plan. During his oral argument before this court, Rumsey stated that the lawsuit against Trefz had been dismissed. For Tracy Welsh-McAlexander's complaint, the Disciplinary Administrator alleges that Rumsey violated Kansas Rules of Professional Conduct (KRPC) 1.1 (2002 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 316) (competent representation); KRPC 1.15(a) and (d) (2002 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 384) (safekeeping property); KRPC 3.1 (2002 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 406) (meritorious claims and contentions); KRPC 3.3 (2002 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 411) (candor toward a tribunal); and KRPC 8.4(a), (c), (d), and (g) (2002 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 449) (misconduct). Rumsey stipulated to violating KRPC 1.15(a) and (d) and KRPC 8.4(a).