454 P.2d 807 | Colo. | 1969
delivered the opinion of the Court.
This is an original proceeding in discipline filed in this court by the Attorney General wherein the respondent, John J. Tobin, who was admitted to the Colorado Bar on March 14, 1949, was charged with the commission of various and sundry acts of professional misconduct which were alleged to be contrary to the highest standards of honesty, justice and morality.
In a pre-trial conference before our Grievance Committee most of the various allegations contained in the several complaints filed in this matter by the Attorney General were admitted by the respondent. Thereafter, further hearings were held before the Grievance Committee, with several witnesses, including the respondent, testifying at length before that body. In due time the Grievance Committee filed with us its Report, Findings, Conclusions and Recommendations.
Our study of the record leads us to conclude that because of the respondent’s misconduct constituting gross professional negligence, he should be indefinitely suspended from the practice of law. In support of our conclusions we shall now summarize the more serious and repeated misdeeds of the respondent, on a case-by-case basis.
One Lee Rossow died on September 19, 1959 and his widow, who was appointed administratrix of the estate, engaged respondent as attorney for her and the estate and he served in that capacity until October 3,1966, when he was removed as attorney by order of court. While thus serving as attorney for this estate respondent’s derelictions were many. Specifically, he failed to file an inventory and also failed to file an inheritance tax application. As a result of this latter omission the Inheritance Tax Department on May 5, 1965 made an arbitrary assessment fixing the assets of the estate as having a total value of $40,000 and assessing a tax of $655, even though the estate was in reality insolvent. Furthermore, respondent caused the administratrix to pay the sum of $3,006 to the J. I. Case Company without first obtaining permission from the county court to do so and upon the misrepresentation by respondent to the administratrix that the county court had in fact ordered the claim to be paid. Similarly, respondent caused the administratrix to pay the sum of $250 to a mortuary upon his representation that the claim had been approved by the county court, when in fact it had not. Additionally, respondent failed to file an election to take a widow’s allowance thereby depriving the widow of such allowance. Finally, when respondent was by order of court removed as attorney for the estate and was directed to turn the files over to other counsel, he refused and only after he was actually cited for contempt did he reluctantly comply with the aforesaid order of court.
THE J. I. CASE COMPANY CLAIM
This particular claim arises out of proceedings in the Rossow estate. Mr. Rossow at the time of his death was apparently an implement dealer and sold tools and equipment given him on a conditional sale basis by the J. I. Case Company. As a result of this relationship the Case company asserted a claim of some sort against the Rossow
THE HERRING ESTATE
E. I. (Ted) Herring died on April 1, 1963 and his widow, who was appointed to serve as executrix of his estate, engaged respondent as attorney for her and- the
THE ELIZABETH QUINN ESTATE
Respondent as the attorney for the estate of Elizabeth Quinn, deceased, failed to prepare and file the federal estate tax return and as a result of such inaction the estate was required to pay taxes in excess of the amount which would have been required if the return had been timely filed with the respondent.
THE WILLIAM T. QUINN MATTER
The respondent was employed by Mr. and Mrs. William T. Quinn to prepare their federal and state income tax returns for the years 1957 through 1965 and in connection therewith was paid a fee and from time-to-time was given the necessary information to be used in preparing the tax returns. Furthermore, at respondent’s suggestion, Mr. and Mrs. Quinn signed blank income tax returns and gave them to the respondent with the understanding that he would complete the returns and file them when due. And then the respondent from time-to-time assured the Quinns that he had prepared and filed their returns, when in fact he had not done so. As a result of this series of derelictions, Mrs. Quinn, Mr. Quinn having died in the meantime, was eventually required to pay taxes and interest substantially in excess of what would have been due. •
THE BAILEY AND RIGGEN ESTATES ■
In 1961 respondent was appointed to serve as the
THE JOHN W. AUTRY ESTATE
■Respondent was employed as attorney for this estate and he failed to file an inheritance tax application though admonished several times by . the county court to do so.
......THE M. J. FITZPATRICK ESTATE
■ Respondent was employed as an attorney for the estate and as of the date of hearing before our Grievance Committee, which was October 24, 1968, he had taken no
THE LESTER C. BRADLEY ESTATE
Though admonished by the county court, respondent as attorney for this estate, has taken no action with respect to said estate since January 1963.
THE JOHN A. WILSON ESTATE
Though repeatedly admonished by the court, respondent, as attorney for this estate, had taken no action with respect to the estate, since April 1964.
THE ALICE M. BROWN ESTATE
Respondent was employed as attorney for this estate in 1959 and in that year, respondent presented' a petition to the county court requesting authority to settle a claim of' the deceased in the amount of $7,284.70. Such permission was granted, but respondent thereafter has taken no further action whatsoever with respect to such claim nor'has he ever filed an inventory or inheritance tax application.
The foregoing is believed to be a fair summary of most, though not all, of the various acts of misconduct on the part of the respondent which- led to this proceeding. Our Grievance Committee concluded that the respondent by his own admission had been grossly negligent in hi's handling of the various matters referred to above and that his actions were most definitely contrary to the highest standards of honesty, justice and-morality'.' With this conclusion we are in complete accord. Certainly this is a flagrant case of inattention by a lawyer to .the affairs of his client. This is not.a case involving-an isolated instance of misconduct by an attorney., in ..the handling of matters which have been entrusted to him. Rather, the instant record discloses a long series of transgressions which would seem to indicate that this, is- a way-of-life for the respondent and that this is the fashion
The only remaining matter, and an important one, is to determine the proper disciplinary action to be imposed by this court on the respondent. For understandable reasons we are — and should be — slow to suspend a lawyer from the practice of his profession. But it must be remembered that the general public has a very definite interest in a proceeding of this type. The public must be afforded protection from the lawyer who accepts the legal problems of his client and then through inaction amounting to gross negligence mishandles such matters to the financial detriment of his client. We conclude that as concerns this respondent the proper disciplinary action is indefinite suspension.
Accordingly, we hereby indefinitely suspend the respondent from the practice of law in this state.