Opinion ID: 836006
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Parrish Matter

Text: In 1998, the accused represented Joe and Laurel Parrish in a boundary dispute with a neighbor, Conner. The Parrishes asserted ownership by adverse possession of approximately 10 feet of property to which Conner also claimed ownership. Snyder represented Conner. On December 17, 1998, the accused wrote to Snyder that the accused was having a survey of the properties prepared, and he offered to settle the matter without going to trial. The letter also stated that the accused would send Snyder the results of the survey. On January 13, 1999, the accused again wrote to Snyder, telling her that Parrish et al. v. Conner was set for daily call on January 29 and for trial on February 1, and that the accused was ready to try the case on February 1. The letter also stated, If you intend to file an amended answer or request a reset, please do so, so I can arrange my schedule. The accused was anxious to have the matter resolved, because Joe Parrish, who was dying of cancer, did not want the dispute to be a burden on his wife after his death. Snyder did not file an appearance. According to the accused, he called Snyder sometime thereafter and left a message asking her if she wanted to have the trial date reset, but he received no response from Snyder, and they did not agree to have the trial set for a different date. According to Snyder, she talked to the accused by telephone after she received the January 13 letter and told the accused that her partner, Fowlks, would be trying the case. Snyder testified that she and the accused agreed that the trial would have to be postponed, because there had been no discovery yet and the property survey was not yet complete. Snyder also testified that she and the accused agreed that the accused would ask the court to postpone the trial, that she relied on their agreement and, accordingly, that she did not attend call on January 29. Neither the accused nor Snyder made notes of their conversation. The accused appeared at call on January 29 and reported ready. He did not ask to have the trial set for a different date. Neither Snyder nor Fowlks appeared. On February 1, the accused, but not Fowlks, appeared for trial, and the accused asked the judge to contact Fowlks's office to determine why Fowlks was not present. The trial judge's clerk called Fowlks's office and talked to Snyder, who, in turn, called Fowlks at his dentist's office. Thereafter, both Snyder and Fowlks came to court to explain what had occurred. At that time, the accused handed Snyder the property survey. The judge rescheduled the case for trial and ordered Conner to pay out of pocket costs resulting from the delay of the trial. [6] In its third cause of complaint, the Bar alleged that the accused violated DR 1-102(A)(3) and DR 1-102(A)(4) in the Parrish matter. The text of DR 1-102(A)(3) appears above. DR 1-102(A)(4) provides that [i]t is professional misconduct for a lawyer to    [e]ngage in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice[.] The focus of DR 1-102(A)(4) is on the effect of the lawyer's conduct on the administration of justice, not on what the lawyer intended. In re Claussen, 322 Or. 466, 482, 909 P.2d 862 (1996). A single act that is substantially harmful to the administration of justice violates DR 1-102(A)(4). In re Haws, 310 Or. 741, 748, 801 P.2d 818 (1990). Harm to the administration of justice can occur when either the substantive rights of a party to the proceedings or the procedural functioning of a case or hearing is impaired. Id. at 747, 801 P.2d 818. Potential harm to the administration of justice is sufficient to trigger application of DR 1-102(A)(4); the Bar need not prove actual harm. In re Smith, 316 Or. 55, 59-60, 848 P.2d 612 (1993). The trial panel noted that neither the accused nor Snyder had confirming letters, notes or any other tangible evidence to resolve this dispute. Based on its credibility assessment, it concluded that the accused had not violated either DR 1-102(A)(3) or (4) in the Parrish matter. The Bar contends that the trial panel erred, because inferences drawn from the evidence support Snyder's account rather than the accused's and that Snyder's anger when she heard that the accused had not requested that the trial be reset is telling. The accused responds that this court should adopt the trial panel's findings regarding this cause of complaint, because those findings were based on the panel's credibility determinations. We disagree with the Bar that inferences that can be drawn from the evidence in the record rise to the level of clear and convincing evidence that the accused violated the disciplinary rules as charged. The trial panel's credibility findings regarding this cause of complaint deserve deference. See Trukositz, 312 Or. at 629, 825 P.2d 1369 (discussing when deference to trial panel credibility assessments is appropriate). The Bar has failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the accused violated DR 1-102(A)(3) and DR 1-102(A)(4) in the Parrish matter.