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IOWA SUPREME COURT v. HOFFMAN12/24/1997
This attorney disciplinary matter is before us for de novo review in accordance with Iowa Supreme Court rule 118.10. A division of the grievance commission has recommended that we suspend respondent's license to practice law for a period of six months based on respondent's attempt to collect excessive attorney fees. We concur in the commission's [572 NW2d Page 905]
findings and its recommended sanction.
I. Respondent Thomas Hoffman entered into a contingent fee contract with Elaine Jahde on April 26, 1994, to represent her in an attempt to recover damages arising out of the employment-related or wrongful death of her husband, Richard Jahde. Richard Jahde died on April 18, 1994, from injuries sustained while working at Sioux Feed Company. Farmland Insurance Company provided workers' compensation coverage and general liability coverage for Sioux Feed. On April 19, 1994, Denise Baker Hamilton, the workers' compensation claims supervisor for Farmland, received notification by telephone of Richard Jahde's death. Hamilton initially was unsure whether Richard Jahde was an employee of Sioux Feed or an independent contractor and thus, whether his accident would be covered by workers' compensation benefits. However, after further investigation and an opinion letter from Farmland's counsel, Hamilton determined that Jahde's claim was compensable under the workers' compensation policy.
The attorney fee contract entered into by respondent and Elaine Jahde was intended to cover all claims arising out of Richard Jahde's death. At the time of the initial consultation with Elaine Jahde, respondent identified several possible theories of recovery which seemed promising, including: negligence, workers' compensation , co-employee liability, products liability and medical malpractice. The contract provided for a fee equal to twenty-five percent of the recovery if made without filing suit, a fee equal to thirty-three percent of the recovery if made after suit was filed and before notice of appeal to any appellate level, and a fee equal to forty percent of the recovery if retried. In the event no recovery was made, no fee for services would be charged. During the next several weeks, respondent began investigating the potential claims.
On June 1, 1994, Hamilton sent a letter to Elaine Jahde advising her that the incident resulting in Richard Jahde's death was covered by Sioux Feed's workers' compensation policy. Payment of the benefits owed Elaine Jahde began at that time. On June 2, 1994, while Farmland's letter acknowledging compensability was still in the mail, respondent sent an original notice and petition for workers' compensation benefits to Sioux Feed. At that time, respondent was not aware of the identity of Sioux Feed's workers' compensation carrier and had not made contact with any Farmland representative. Respondent learned of the Farmland letter and its acknowledgment of compensability on June 3, 1994, when he received a telephone call from Hamilton, who called regarding Sioux Feed's receipt of the workers' compensation petition. Although Hamilton advised respondent of Farmland's acknowledgment of coverage, respondent told her that he wished to pursue the workers' compensation claim for purposes of discovery on the other possible theories of recovery.
On June 7, 1994, respondent sent the workers' compensation petition along with proof of service to the industrial commissioner. Those papers were received and filed by the industrial commissioner on June 10, 1994. At the time of the service of the petition, respondent also served a discovery request on Sioux Feed seeking documents which would be relevant to Jahde's other potential claims, specifically, the co-employee
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