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Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland v. Pennington6/22/2005
ter investigating the matter, the Attorney Grievance Commission through Bar Counsel filed a Petition for Disciplinary Action against Respondent. This Court discovered at the hearing on December 8, 2004 that this matter was brought to the attention of the Attorney Grievance Commission through a Complaint filed by Amica Mutual Insurance Company.
IV. Conclusions of Law
"Respondent, without disputing the material facts of the case, testified that she (1) did not recognize the error made by the Clerk's Office until after the Statute of Limitations had expired on the Butlers Complaint; (2) did notify Amica's attorney, Timothy Howie, to close his file on the Butlers Claim and then without consulting with the Butlers entered into a Joint Line of Dismissal with Prejudice on their claim; (3) did not notify the Butlers that the Statute of Limitations had expired and that they no longer had a viable claim; (4) presented the Butlers with a `Statement of Settlement' and a settlement check paid out of her own funds; and (5) sent a letter to Metro Orthopedics that represented that there was a settlement in Mrs. Butler's claim in an effort to reduce her medical bills. Therefore, the factual predicate for this Petition is established by clear and convincing evidence. The specific violations of the Maryland Lawyer' Rules of Professional Conduct alleged are addressed below.
A. Rule 1.1 Competence
"Petitioner complains that the Respondent was incompetent in ensuring that the Butler Complaint was independently filed and docketed with the Court. Petitioner avers that thoroughness and preparation are necessary in order to competently represent a client and that proper management of case files is included in that requirement. Furthermore, Petitioner contends that the Respondent should have had a proper system in place to process client matters and management of her files, including assuring the proper filing of Complaints. The Petitioner suggests that, if such a system were in place, the Respondent would have realized that the parties recorded by the Clerk's Office in the Butler Complaint did not correlate with that in the actual Complaint itself. She would also have discovered on her own that the Butler Complaint was never properly filed and docketed by the Clerk's Office. In addition, Respondent would have been aware that the check her office issued to the Clerk of the Court for the filing fee of the Butler Complaint was not negotiated. If Respondent had noticed these irregularities, she might have clarified the record of the filing of the Butler Complaint prior to the expiration of the applicable Statute of Limitations.
"Respondent argues that the clerical error by the Clerk of the Circuit Court was not a legal mistake by the Respondent and that there is no evidence in the record that would suggest that a minor personal injury case was beyond the competency level of the Respondent.
"This Court agrees with the Respondent on that limited point. Rule 1.1, however, is not limited in scope to legal knowledge and skill. Specifically, Rule 1.1 provides that ` ompetent representation requires the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation.' (Emphasis added). ` hether the representation the lawyer gives is incompetent or is merely careless or negligent depends upon what reasonably is necessary in the circumstances, i.e., the facts and circumstances of the particular case.' Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland v. Kemp, 335 Md. 1, 10, 641 A.2d 510, 514 (1994).
"This Court finds in this case that, if the Petitioner had maintained an appropriately efficient and reliable system to process her client's mat
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