| Description: |
John A. Bardelli (WSBA No. 5498, admitted
1974), of Spokane, was suspended for 30 days
and reprimanded, effective October 14, 2011, by
order of the Washington State Supreme Court
following approval of a stipulation. This discipline
is based on conduct in two matters involving
failure to diligently represent clients and failure
to communicate.
Matter No. 1: In August 2003, Clients A hired
Mr. Bardelli on a contingent fee basis to represent
them against two defendants in a wrongful death
action involving their adult daughter. Their
daughter died without a will. Mr. Bardelli filed a
probate action to name Mrs. A personal representative
for her daughter’s estate to enable her
to bring the wrongful death action. The probate
court required Mrs. A to file an oath with the
court. Mr. Bardelli failed to file the oath, and Mrs.
A was never appointed personal representative.
Mr. Bardelli did not explain the probate process
to Clients A or provide them with copies of the
probate documents. In November 2004, the
court sent Mr. Bardelli an order dismissing the
probate action without prejudice. Mr. Bardelli
took no further action, failed to provide copies of
the documents to his clients, and failed to notify
them of the dismissal.
On September 8, 2003, Mr. Bardelli filed the
wrongful death action. Mr. Bardelli failed to notify
Clients A when one of the defendants’ motion
for summary judgment was granted in February
2005. Mr. Bardelli appealed the dismissal without
Clients A’s knowledge or permission. The Court
of Appeals affirmed the dismissal. In November
2006, the second defendant moved for summary
judgment. Mr. Bardelli failed to file a responsive
pleading to the motion, which was noted for hearing
on February 2, 2007. He sought a continuance
of the summary judgment hearing contending
he was ill. After the hearing, the court denied
Mr. Bardelli’s motion for a continuance, granted
defendant’s motion, and dismissed the case, in
part because Clients A lacked standing to bring
suit. Mr. Bardelli failed to notify Clients A of the
dismissal of their suit and appealed the dismissal
without Clients A’s knowledge or permission. The
Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal.
Between 2003 and 2007, Mr. Bardelli generally
failed to communicate with Clients A or provide
them with copies of documents.
Matter No. 2: Client B hired Mr. Bardelli as
replacement counsel in a suit begun in 1991. In
August 1999, after the court found in favor of
Client B and for Mr. Bardelli on attorneys’ fees,
Mr. Bardelli filed a judgment against defendants
in superior court. When he prepared the judgment,
Mr. Bardelli failed to properly identify the
defendants or use their legal names. When one
of the defendants died in July 2001, Mr. Bardelli
was notified of his death, but took no action on
the judgment.
In November 2001, Client B believed that Mr.
Bardelli was still pursuing his judgment, including
a claim against the decedent’s estate. Mr. Bardelli
did not file a claim with the estate. In 2004, Mr.
Bardelli emailed Client B advising that he did not
“specialize” in collecting judgments, and would
not do so on Client B’s behalf. Client B authorized
Mr. Bardelli to hire a collection lawyer, but Mr.
Bardelli failed to do so. In 2005, Mr. Bardelli
referred Client B to a different lawyer who wrote
to Mr. Bardelli and Client B that satisfying the
judgment would be unlikely due to the passage of
time and insufficient assets of decedent’s estate.
Mr. Bardelli’s conduct violated RPC1.3, requiring
a lawyer to act with reasonable diligence and
promptness in representing a client; and RPC
1.4, requiring a lawyer to reasonably consult with
the client about the means by which the client’s
objectives are to be accomplished, keep the client
reasonably informed about the status of the
matter, and promptly comply with reasonable
requests for information.
Kathleen A.T. Dassel represented the Bar
Association. Michael L. Perrizo represented Mr. |