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Medlock v. Commission for Lawyer Discipline6/21/2000
Jacqueline E. Medlock, an attorney, appeals from the judgment of the trial court finding that she had engaged in professional misconduct, violating Rules 7.07(a) and 8.04(a)(9) of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct. The court ordered that she be suspended from the practice of law for twelve months: six months' active suspension and the following six months probated. The court also ordered that Medlock pay the State Bar of Texas the sum of $3,000.00 as attorneys' fees incurred in the prosecution of the case.
Medlock contends on appeal: (1) that the trial court should have granted her no evidence motion for summary judgment; (2) that the trial court should not have granted the Commission's motion for summary judgment; and (3) that the trial court should not have denied her motion for reconsideration based on a new development in the form of post-trial sworn testimony from a material witness. We overrule these contentions and affirm the judgment.
The Commission for Lawyer Discipline of the State Bar initiated this litigation by filing a disciplinary petition in the District Court of Harris County, the county in which Medlock had her law practice. In its second amended disciplinary petition, the Commission alleged that Medlock sent a letter to a family who had recently been in a traffic accident involving injuries, attempting to solicit business for her law firm. The father of the family was the complainant in the grievance filed against Medlock, and the letter was specifically addressed to the complainant's four-year-old son. The petition alleged that Medlock's conduct violated Rule 7.07(a) of the Disciplinary Rules because she did not submit the solicitation letter to the Lawyer Advertisement and Solicitation Review Committee of the State Bar before or at the time she mailed it. The Commission also alleged that Medlock's conduct violated Rule 8.04(a)(9) of the Disciplinary Rules, which prohibits a lawyer from engaging in conduct that constitutes barratry as defined by Texas law.
The Commission moved for summary judgment. Medlock filed no response to the motion. Medlock did file a no evidence motion for summary judgment under Tex. R. Civ. P. 166a(i), to which the Commission responded. After a hearing, the trial court granted the Commission's motion for summary judgment and denied Medlock's no evidence motion. Medlock filed a motion to reconsider, supported by her own affidavit, in which she stated that she was not aware that the letter alleged to have been received by the complainant's son had been sent from her office and denied knowledge of the circumstances under which the letter was sent. Medlock also attached to the motion the affidavit of James C. K. Adams Okolo, in which he stated that he was responsible for sending the letter in question. The trial court denied Medlock's motion to reconsider.
Medlock first contends that the trial court erroneously denied her no-evidence motion for summary judgment. The denial of a motion for summary judgment is appealable only where both parties file motions for summary judgment and the court grants one of the motions and denies the other. See Novak v. Stevens, 596 S.W.2d 848 (Tex. 1980). The trial court did that here, so Medlock may appeal both the denial of her motion and the granting of the Commission's motion. Rule 166a(i) provides for a no-evidence motion for summary judgment:
After adequate time for discovery, a party without presenting summary judgment evidence may move for summary judgment on the ground that there is no evidence of one or more essential elements of a claim or defense on which an adverse party would have the burden of proof at trial. . . . . The court must grant th
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