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Newport lawyer Douglas Lambarth (WSBA No. 1200, admitted 1970) has been ordered reprimanded pursuant to a stipulation approved by the Disciplinary Board on December 10, 1997. The discipline is based upon Lambarth’s neglect of two civil matters: his lack of diligence and competence in completing a probate, his failure to respond to his clients’ reasonable requests for information, and his failure to promptly open or deposit funds into an estate account in violation of RPC 1.3, 1.4(a) and 1.14(a); and his failure to withdraw after termination, in an eviction matter, in violation of RPC 1.2 and 1.15.
In June 1992, an Oregon lawyer hired Lambarth to probate a Washington estate. Lambarth failed to establish an estate checking account. He accumulated uncashed dividend checks, failed to respond to his clients’ repeated requests for information about the probate, and did not consult with an experienced probate attorney until May 1995, when he paid a probate attorney to complete the estate.
In June 1996, the owners of a property management company hired Lambarth to evict a tenant from their low-income housing project. Lambarth filed a summons and complaint, but the court dismissed the case. Instead of informing his clients of the outcome, Lambarth filed a motion for reconsideration. After the clients discharged Lambarth, he made a court appearance on their behalf anyway.
Lambarth was represented by Gerald Cartwright. The Bar Association was represented by Disciplinary Counsel Bernadette S. Janét.
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