Opinion ID: 2360393
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Complaint of Joan Alice Brown

Text: Ms. Brown's complaint stems from respondent's representation of her in a tax sale of property matter. On June 4, 2002, Ms. Brown purchased tax sale certificates on two different properties located in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. A little less than a year from the date of purchase, Ms. Brown retained respondent to represent her in rights of redemption proceedings regarding the two properties. She paid respondent a $2,000 fee and entrusted the original tax certificates to him. Notice was clearly given on the face of each tax certificate that the certificate would be void unless a proceeding to foreclose the owner's right of redemption was initiated no later than two years after the date Ms. Brown purchased them; that is, no later than June 4, 2004. It appears that respondent failed to file a complaint to foreclose the right of redemption on one of the properties, which resulted in the tax certificate becoming void. Verification of respondent's lack of filing a complaint was evidenced by a August 6, 2004 letter from the Office of Finance for Anne Arundel County, noting that one of the tax certificates was void since no foreclosure proceeding had ever been filed. Furthermore, respondent failed to obtain a deed and to file a certificate of compliance with respect to the second property. Ms. Brown filed a formal complaint with petitioner on January 11, 2005. Bar Counsel unsuccessfully requested a response to Ms. Brown's allegations from respondent two times prior to filing a Statement of Charges with the Chairman of the Peer Review Committee pursuant to Md. Rule 16-741. Respondent failed to participate in the Peer Review process which prompted Bar Counsel to terminate that process pursuant to Md. Rule 16-743(b)(2) and file a Petition for Disciplinary Action with this Court. The hearing judge concluded that respondent violated (1) MLRPC 1.1 by failing to be thoroughly prepared in his representation of Ms. Brown, (2) MLRPC 1.3 by his lack of diligence in failing to file any proceeding to foreclose the rights of redemption upon the tax certificates entrusted to him by his client, (3) MLRPC 1.4 by failing to communicate to Ms. Brown the status of her case and failing to provide Ms. Brown with the requisite information to make an informed decision as to whether to continue his representation of the matter, (4) MLRPC 1.5(a) by charging an excessive fee of $2,000 even though he failed to render services, (5) MLRPC 1.16(d) by effectively abandoning Ms. Brown and failing to return the unearned fee upon termination of his representation, and (6) MLRPC 8.1(b) by failing to respond to Bar Counsel's inquiries. Neither respondent nor Bar Counsel filed exceptions to the hearing judge's findings of fact and conclusions of law. Instead, Bar Counsel reiterated that respondent was already a subject of a pending complaint before this Court and that he is a subject of a preliminary injunction issued by the Circuit Court for Baltimore City enjoining him from practicing law. Bar Counsel recommends that the proper sanction arising from Ms. Dorsey and Ms. Brown's complaints should be disbarment. Since we do not find any error with the hearing judge's findings of facts and conclusions of law, we agree with Bar Counsel that the appropriate sanction in this case is disbarment. As this Court has stated many times, [i]t is well-settled that the purpose of disciplinary proceedings is to protect the public rather than to punish the erring attorney. Attorney Grievance v. Wallace, 368 Md. 277, 289, 793 A.2d 535, 542 (2002); Attorney Griev. v. Franz & Lipowitz, 355 Md. 752, 760-61, 736 A.2d 339, 343-44 (1999); Attorney Griev. Com'n v. Myers, 333 Md. 440, 446-47, 635 A.2d 1315, 1318 (1994); Attorney Griev. Com'n v. Goldsborough, 330 Md. 342, 364, 624 A.2d 503, 513 (1993); Attorney Griev. Com'n v. Protokowicz, 329 Md. 252, 262-63, 619 A.2d 100, 105 (1993). Determining the appropriate sanction is in a particular case is dependent upon the particular misconduct and facts and circumstances in the case. Attorney Grievance v. Wallace, supra, 368 Md. at 289, 793 A.2d at 543. See also Attorney Griev. Com'n v. Babbitt, 300 Md. 637, 642, 479 A.2d 1372, 1375 (1984) ([t]he severity of the sanction to be imposed for misconduct generally depends upon the facts and circumstances of the case.); Attorney Griev. Com'n v. Montgomery, 296 Md. 113, 120, 460 A.2d 597, 600 (1983) ([t]he severity of the sanction to be imposed is dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case.). In all eight cases, respondent accepted fees and then failed to represent his clients diligently or competently. It is worth repeating here what we stated in Attorney Grievance v. Wallace, supra, 368 Md. at 291, 793 A.2d at 544: In determining the proper course to follow when confronted with an attorney who has neglected the needs of his clients and failed to communicate with them, we have `consistently regarded neglect and inattentiveness to a client's interests to be a violation of the Canons of Ethics warranting the imposition of some disciplinary sanction' . . . . It is clear then that willful and flagrant neglect of a client's affairs is, in and of itself, the kind of misconduct by an attorney which can lead to disbarment. . . . [W]e have noticed too many instances when lawyers have agreed to represent clients and accepted fees, in part or in whole, only to completely neglect these same legal problems, causing the same clients emotional distress, financial loss, or other varying kinds of inconvenience. [Internal citations omitted]. Respondent's misconduct is parallel to the misconduct found in Attorney Grievance v. Wallace, supra . Therefore, we agree with Bar Counsel that the appropriate sanction is disbarment. IT IS SO ORDERED; RESPONDENT SHALL PAY ALL COSTS AS TAXED BY THE CLERK OF THIS COURT, INCLUDING THE COSTS OF ALL TRANSCRIPTS, PURSUANT TO MARYLAND RULE 16-761(b), FOR WHICH SUM JUDGMENT IS ENTERED IN FAVOR OF THE ATTORNEY GRIEVANCE COMMISSION OF MARYLAND AGAINST DAVID D. SUTTON.