Opinion ID: 1247667
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Hobbs Matter

Text: The stipulated facts disclose that in April 1981 Levin, as the personal guarantor of various obligations of Valley Club Service, Inc. (hereafter Valley Club), was sued by Ron Abel Service, Inc., as a result of Valley Club's default on two notes and a lease of a service station. Abel was represented in the action by its attorney, Frank Hobbs. Shortly after the lawsuit was filed Levin contacted Hobbs to negotiate a settlement. They agreed that Valley Club would stipulate to a judgment for wrongful detainer. When Levin met with Hobbs he represented that he had the authority to sign the stipulation because he was an officer of Valley Club and because its board of directors had met and agreed to surrender the premises. Subsequent to this meeting, however, Hobbs learned that Levin had deceived him: he was not an officer of Valley Club, and the board of directors had not met and agreed to the stipulation. Hobbs confronted Levin and questioned him about these misstatements. The latter admitted the deceit and claimed that because Valley Club's potential liability was as high as $1 million he was under intense pressure from his coventurers to settle the matter. In an effort to rectify the situation Levin stated that he had communicated informally with all the directors and offered to sign a statement indicating that the board of directors had met. Hobbs refused the offer. Thereafter Levin contacted Hobbs's associate, Dennis Harkavy, and tried to persuade him to assign the Valley Club case to an attorney who was not aware of the facts so that the stipulation could be filed. Harkavy refused. In addition to his acts of deception, Levin also tried on numerous occasions between March and September 1981 to communicate with Hobbs's client, Ron Abel, outside of the lawyer's presence. In May 1981 Hobbs sent Levin a letter asking him to stop these communications. Despite this and other letters, Levin nonetheless persisted in his efforts to discuss the case with Abel, believing that in his role as a party-litigant he could communicate with his adversary without consulting or informing the attorney. Rather than cease his attempts, Levin instead requested an opinion from the State Bar in July 1981 concerning the propriety of these communications. Only after he received a reply from the State Bar stating that such communications were unethical did he stop his direct contacts with Abel.