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In re Boone6/16/2000
ORIGINAL PROCEEDING IN DISCIPLINE
Original proceeding in discipline.
Two-year supervised probation.
This is an original contested attorney discipline case filed by the office of the Disciplinary Administrator against Thomas Caleb Boone of Hays, Kansas, an attorney licensed to practice law in Kansas. The complaint alleged that Boone had violated KRPC 1.1 (1999 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 284) (competence); KRPC 1.3 (1999 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 294) (diligence); KRPC 3.1 (1999 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 361) (meritorious claims and contentions); KRPC 3.2 (1999 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 362) (expediting litigation); KRPC 3.4 (1999 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 369) (fairness to opposing party and counsel); and KRPC 8.4(a), (d), and (g) (1999 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 399) (misconduct).
A panel of the Kansas Board for Discipline of Attorneys (Panel) found that in six federal court cases and two state court cases, Boone had committed various violations of professional conduct, including filing frivolous lawsuits, disobeying court orders, failing to comply with court orders, and failing to dismiss non-meritorious cases. The Panel found no violations of KRPC 1.1 or KRPC 8.46(a) or (g). The Disciplinary Administrator requested the Panel to recommend that Boone be indefinitely suspended from the practice of law. The Panel recommends that Boone be suspended from the practice of law for 2 years. The Panel further recommends that imposition of the discipline be suspended and Boone be placed on supervised probation for 2 years subject to terms and conditions.
FACTS:
Disciplinary Administrator Mark Anderson initiated the investigation into Boone's professional conduct upon receiving a copy of an order filed in United States District Court for the District of Kansas where United States Magistrate Judge John Thomas Reid ordered Boone to appear and show cause why he should not be held in contempt and referred to the Committee on Conduct of Attorneys and the Disciplinary Panel of the federal District Court to be suspended, disbarred, or otherwise disciplined for failing to obey the orders of the court. The Disciplinary Administrator appointed Brian Burris, an attorney practicing in Wichita, Kansas, to investigate Boone's professional conduct.
The federal court order which formed the basis for the investigation was issued in Topliff v. Gross, a medical malpractice case where Boone represented the plaintiff. The order stated that Boone had ignored deadlines set by the court, had failed to pay court-ordered sanctions imposed because of Boone's failure to respond to a motion to compel, and had failed to repay the defendant an amount of money ordered by the court. The federal court order referred to another case, Paulie v. Cooperative Union Mercantile Company of Grinnell, Kansas, where Boone had failed to meet deadlines and the federal district judge had advised Boone to file no more cases until he demonstrated an ability to meet the deadlines in cases already on file. The federal court order noted with disapproval that Boone had filed five additional cases after the Paulie order.
The Disciplinary Administrator instructed Burris to review the matters referred to in the Topliff order and the various cases referred to in the order and to expand his inquiry into Boone's cases to the extent necessary to complete the investigation. Burris contacted Boone. Boone cooperated fully in the investigation.
Burris searched the files in the federal District Court Clerk's office and reviewed the cases where Boone had represented parties. Documents from cases in which Burris identified possible disciplinary problems became exhibits in the disciplinary hearing. A synopsis of the
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