State ex rel. Counsel for Dis. v. Garrison, 296 Neb. 550

Respondent Dustin A. Garrison (admitted 2008) took over a Nebraska client's personal-injury case originally against a Texas-registered vehicle and driver.
Garrison filed suit against and obtained a default judgment (Oct. 2013) against a New Jersey corporation styled “Serco, Inc.” that disavowed any relation to the Texas entity and denied employing the driver.
The client repeatedly asked about case status via Facebook; Garrison’s responses were terse, incomplete, and failed to explain case developments adequately.
The Nebraska Supreme Court reversed and vacated the default judgment on appeal in Carrel v. Serco Inc., 291 Neb. 61, 864 N.W.2d 236 (2015); new counsel later refiled against the correct Texas entity and the claims were dismissed.
Counsel for Discipline charged Garrison with violations of his oath and multiple professional-conduct rules (competence, diligence, communication, fee issues, misconduct).
Garrison filed a conditional admission admitting the violations, acknowledged prior private reprimands, and agreed to a stipulated sanction: 90-day suspension followed by 1 year of monitored probation upon reinstatement, with detailed monitoring requirements.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Competence & case management (Rule 3-501.1)	Garrison sued the wrong corporate entity, pursued and enforced a defective default judgment, showing lack of competence.	Garrison conditionally admitted the alleged conduct and did not contest the facts.	Court found violations of competence rules and accepted the conditional admission.
Diligence (Rule 3-501.3)	Garrison failed to diligently prosecute and protect client interests (improper service, wrong defendant, case collapse on appeal).	Garrison waived contest via conditional admission.	Court concluded respondent violated diligence rule.
Communication & client information (Rules 3-501.4(a),(b))	Garrison provided inadequate explanations and evasive answers to client inquiries over years.	Garrison admitted the communication failures.	Court found communication rule violations.
Fees/misconduct & sanction (Rules 3-501.5, 3-508.4; oath)	Counsel for Discipline sought appropriate discipline given prior reprimands and the misconduct.	Garrison proposed and accepted a stipulated sanction (90-day suspension + 1-year monitored probation with detailed monitoring plan).	Court approved the conditional admission and imposed the agreed sanction and monitoring conditions; respondent must pay costs.

Carrel v. Serco Inc., 291 Neb. 61 (Neb. 2015) (appellate reversal directing vacation of default judgment against Serco)