86 A.D.2d 897 | N.Y. App. Div. | 1982
Respondent was admitted to the Bar by this court on September 24, 1953. In this proceeding to discipline him for professional misconduct, petitioner moves to confirm in part and to disaffirm in part the report of the Judge to whom the issues were referred. Respondent requests that we confirm the findings which are favorable to him and disaffirm those which are unfavorable. The petition contains three charges. Charge No. 1 alleges that respondent neglected his client’s claims for damages arising from an automobile accident. The hearing Judge sustained the charge in part, finding that respondent neglected the matter by permitting the Statute of Limitations to run on the claim for property damages and by failing to recover no-fault benefits after he undertook to do so. That part of the charge alleging neglect of the claim for bodily injury was rejected, the Judge finding that no such claim existed under the No-Fault Act since there was no showing that the personal injury was serious or that the medical expenses met the $500 threshold then found in subdivision 4 of section 167 of the Insurance Law. These findings are sustained by the evidence and should be confirmed. In partial mitigation of his misconduct, we note that respondent paid his client’s medical bills and property damage, although all payments were not made until approximately five months later after his client had renewed her complaint against him with the local grievance committee and petitioner had assumed jurisdiction of the matter. Charge No. 2 alleges that respondent violated DR 1-102 (A) (4) and DR 6-102 (A) when he had his client execute a general release of all claims that she had against him for
