Attorney Grievance Comm'n of Md. v. Good
| Decision Date | 21 December 2015 |
| Docket Number | No. 66, Sept. Term, 2014,No. 8, Sept. Term, 2015,66, Sept. Term, 2014,8, Sept. Term, 2015 |
| Citation | 445 Md. 490,128 A.3d 54 |
| Parties | ATTORNEY GRIEVANCE COMMISSION OF MARYLAND v. Tamara Renee GOOD. |
| Court | Court of Special Appeals of Maryland |
JaCina N. Stanton, Assistant Bar Counsel (Glenn M. Grossman, Bar Counsel, Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland), for petitioner.
No response on behalf of Respondent.
Argued before BARBERA, C.J., BATTAGLIA, GREENE, ADKINS, McDONALD, WATTS, and GLENN T. HARRELL, JR. (Retired, Specially Assigned), JJ.
The Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland ("AGC"), acting through Bar Counsel, filed two Petitions for Disciplinary or Remedial Action ("petitions") against Respondent Tamara Renee Good ("Good") on August 28, 2014 and January 7, 2015. Bar Counsel charged Good with violating the Maryland Lawyers' Rules of Professional Conduct ("MLRPC") in her capacity as a representative of Blaine A. White, Jeanne P. Delaney, Joseph A. Chester, III, Eriss Tubman, Cynthia Lewis, and Paul D. Newman. Specifically, Bar Counsel alleged that Good violated the following rules: (1) MLRPC 1.1 (Competence); (2) MLRPC 1.2 (); (3) MLRPC 1.3 (Diligence); (4) MLRPC 1.4 (Communication); (5) MLRPC 1.5 (Fees); (6) MLRPC 1.15 (Safekeeping Property); (7) MLRPC 1.16 (Declining or Terminating Representation); (8) MLRPC 8.1 (Bar Admission and Disciplinary Matters); and (9) MLRPC 8.4 (Misconduct). In addition, Bar Counsel alleged that Good violated § 10–306 of the Maryland Code (1989, Repl.Vol.2010), Business Occupations and Professions Article.
Pursuant to Maryland Rule 16–752(a), we referred the petitions to the Honorable Nancy M. Purpura ("hearing judge") of the Circuit Court for Baltimore County to conduct an evidentiary hearing and make findings of fact and conclusions of law. Good did not attend the hearings conducted on April 2, 2015 and August 21, 2015. Following the hearings, Judge Purpura issued findings of fact and conclusions of law, in which she found by clear and convincing evidence that Good violated MLRPC 1.1; MLRPC 1.2(a); MLRPC 1.3; MLRPC 1.4(a) and (b); MLRPC 1.5(a); MLRPC 1.15(a), (c), and (d); MLRPC 1.16(d); MLRPC 8.1(b); MLRPC 8.4(a), (c), and (d); and § 10–306 of the Maryland Code, Business Occupations and Professions Article. Neither Bar Counsel nor Good filed exceptions to the hearing judge's findings of fact or conclusions of law. Good did not appear before us for oral argument as to sanction. We issued a per curiam order on November 6, 2015, disbarring Good immediately from the practice of law. We now explain the reasons for that order.
Tamara Good was admitted to the Maryland Bar on December 17, 2008, and maintained a practice in Towson, Maryland.
Because the petitions here arose out of six separate client complaints, we set forth the hearing judge's factual findings pertaining to each client complaint.
Before retaining Good, Blaine A. White and Virlynn D. Atkinson–White ("Mr. and Mrs. White") failed to make three months of mortgage payments to their mortgage lender, J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, NA ("Chase"). In May 2012, Mr. and Mrs. White retained Good to file a lawsuit against Chase. Mr. and Mrs. White paid Good a $500 retainer fee. In December 2012, Good filed a lawsuit against Chase in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland and the timeline of events as found by the hearing judge followed:
In June 2013, Good emailed Mr. White advising him that she was awaiting the court's opinion. Shortly thereafter, Mr. White emailed Good requesting a status update. Later that month, the federal judge granted Chase's motion to dismiss the amended complaint and Chase's motion for sanctions, but granted the Whites' motion for leave to file a second amended complaint. Good, however, never filed a second amended complaint on behalf of Mr. and Mrs. White.
Mr. and Mrs. White were unable to reach Good and obtain status updates regarding their case. Mr. and Mrs. White "repeatedly" attempted to telephone Good during the summer of 2013, but she did not return their phone calls. Mr. and Mrs. White also emailed Good in October and November 2013 requesting a status update of their case, but Good did not respond to these requests. The hearing judge found that despite the Whites' telephone calls and emails, Good "failed to inform Mr. and Mrs. White that their case was dismissed or file additional pleadings on their behalf."
In June 2010, Jeanne Delaney retained Good to file a bankruptcy petition on her behalf. During Delaney's initial meeting with Good, she provided Good with a check in the amount of $1,329.00 for legal services. Good's "total attorney's fees for Ms. Delaney's case, including the plan payments and the initial payment of $1,329.00 totaled $4,904.00."
After this meeting, the hearing judge found that:
In October 2012, Joseph Chester retained Good to file a bankruptcy petition with the United States Bankruptcy Court, District of Maryland. Chester is retired from the United States Postal Service and currently suffers from scleroderma and arthritis. Chester paid Good a total of $1,481 in attorney's fees.
After filing a bankruptcy petition on behalf of Chester, Good telephoned Chester at 11:00 A.M. on October 15, 2013 to inform him that he needed to be present at a hearing at the bankruptcy court at 2:00 P.M. on the same day. Prior to October 15, 2013, Chester had not been provided sufficient notice that his presence was necessary at the bankruptcy court.
On October 17, 2013, the bankruptcy judge issued an order denying confirmation of the plan with leave to amend. The order required that an amended plan be filed on or before November 4, 2013. Good told Chester that she would be filing an amended plan before November 4, 2013. After receiving a copy of the bankruptcy court's order, Chester contacted Good "repeatedly" to remind her of the court's denying confirmation of the plan. Nonetheless, Good failed to respond to Chester's phone calls. Good then failed to file an amended plan with the bankruptcy court and Chester's case was dismissed in November 2013.
At Good's disciplinary hearing, Chester testified that she failed to pursue his bankruptcy to its conclusion. The hearing judge found that "[Good's] inaction resulted in the near dismissal" of Chester's bankruptcy until his new attorney began handling the matter.
In May 2010, Eriss Tubman retained Good to file a bankruptcy petition on her behalf. In June 2013, Tubman met with Good and gave her $1,271 to begin the preparation of the bankruptcy petition. Tubman paid $1,671 in total attorney's fees and filing fees for the bankruptcy. In September 2013, Good informed Tubman that she was having family problems that prevented her from filing the bankruptcy petition. Later that month, Good filed the petition.
After the petition was filed, Tubman attended the meeting of creditors in October 2013. Good contacted Tubman in November 2013 and told her that she did not have to attend the confirmation hearing later that month. Tubman then attempted to contact Good on several occasions over a nine month period, but Good did not reply to these voicemail requests for information. In June 2014, Tubman sent Good a termination letter informing her that she had "called her several times a month since our last face to face meeting which was with the creditors" and wrote that their last telephone conversation had been on November 11, 2013. Tubman also filed a complaint with the Attorney Grievance Commission in June 2014.
Bar Counsel sent Good two letters in July 2014 regarding Tubman's complaint, but Good never replied to either of these letters. In September 2014, Good filed a motion to withdraw with the bankruptcy court. Good, however, did not provide Tubman with notice that she was withdrawing from her case.
Good met with Cynthia Lewis in 2012 to discuss Lewis's legal options related to her financial situation. In September 2013, Good filed a bankruptcy petition on behalf of Lewis. Lewis agreed to pay Good $3,000 in attorney's fees and filing fees under the retainer agreement. Lewis attended the meeting of creditors in October 2013 and her repayment plan was confirmed by the bankruptcy court in December 2013.
The hearing judge found that "[Good] failed to respond to Ms. Lewis's requests for information concerning her case." In June 2014, Lewis sent Good a letter regarding the status of her bankruptcy case and sent a second letter...
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