In re Williams9/27/1999
>
Statements to the Commission on Lawyer Conduct
Due to respondent's conduct, both Liles and her sister, Laterna Jones, filed letters of complaint with the Commission on Lawyer Conduct. In response to these letters, the Commission contacted respondent concerning his representation of Liles. Respondent replied in a letter that he had taken a fee of $275,348.98. If this had been his fee, then he charged an excess of $52,598.98. In fact, this was not his fee, because he issued an escrow account check to himself, for the fee, in the amount of $275,000.
In his response to the Notice of Full Investigation, Respondent repeated the above figures, and again made a false statement to the Commission because the amount of the fee was incorrect and inconsistent with the escrow check actually written.
The Hospital Lien and Disbursement Sheet
One of the medical facilities that treated Liles was North Carolina Baptist Hospital (Hospital). By letter dated July 10, 1997, the Hospital notified respondent that it was asserting a lien against the settlement, pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes Sections 44-49 and 44-50. On August 14, 1997, the Hospital again notified respondent of their lien by letter, noting total charges due of $53,615.36.
The settlement provided that Liles would acknowledge certain liens from various sources, including the Hospital, and be responsible for the payment of those liens. Despite the settlement's provisions, respondent attempted to negotiate a settlement for the hospital bill. Respondent wrote the liability counsel for the Hospital on November 12, 1997, requesting an adjustment or reduction of the bill. In that letter, respondent represented that the settlement had been an initial payment of $269,433, with monthly payments of $1,500 for the life of Liles, with 420 payments guaranteed. He did not disclose the existence of any other sums withheld on her behalf, and requested that the Hospital reduce its outstanding bill. The Hospital, through its counsel, responded with an offer to reduce the hospital bill by ten percent and accept $48,253.82 in full settlement of its lien. Respondent never acknowledged nor settled the Hospital's statutory lien.
Instead, respondent wrote the Hospital on December 4, 1997, enclosing an escrow account check in the amount of $32,859.99 as payment for services provided by the hospital to Liles. Attached to the letter was a disbursement sheet, showing total settlement and recovery of $999,433. Deducted from the total settlement was respondent's legal fee of $333,144.33, together with expenses, bringing the total deduction to $336,573.01, plus the initial cash payment of $369,433. These: deductions from the total settlement amount of $999,433 left a balance of $32,859.99. This was the amount remitted to the Hospital.
The disbursement sheet was a false statement, because respondent did not take a legal fee of $333,144.33. Instead, respondent's legal fee was, as determined by an escrow account check, $275,348.98. In the alternative, his legal fee, as represented to the Commission on Lawyer Conduct in both his letter of response and his response to the Notice of Full Investigation, was $275,348.98. Finally, the disbursement sheet was also a false statement to the Hospital because it did not disclose the disbursement of $45,000 to Liles.
Thereafter, the Hospital contacted Liles directly, seeking to collect the remainder due on her hospital bill, in the amount of $15,695.51.
Advances
In his replies to the Commission on July 13, 1998, and following the Notice of Full Investigation, respondent falsely stated that Liles had been paid $57,6
Page 1 2 3 4 South Carolina Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|