Committee on Legal Ethics of the West Virginia State Bar v. Keenan, 21466

Citation427 S.E.2d 471,189 W.Va. 37
Decision Date11 February 1993
Docket NumberNo. 21466,21466
CourtSupreme Court of West Virginia
PartiesTHE COMMITTEE ON LEGAL ETHICS OF THE WEST VIRGINIA STATE BAR, Complainant, v. C. Andy KEENAN, A Member of the West Virginia State Bar, Respondent.

Syllabus by the Court

1. "In a court proceeding prosecuted by the Committee on Legal Ethics of the West Virginia State Bar ... the burden is on the Committee to prove, by full, preponderating and clear evidence, the charges contained in the complaint filed on behalf of the Committee." Syllabus Point 1, in part, Committee on Legal Ethics v. Lewis, 156 W.Va. 809, 197 S.E.2d 312 (1973).

2. "Absent a showing of some mistake of law or arbitrary assessment of the facts, recommendations made by the State Bar Ethics Committee ... are to be given substantial consideration." Syllabus Point 3, in part, In re Brown, 166 W.Va. 226, 273 S.E.2d 567 (1980).

Sherri D. Goodman, Bar Counsel, W.Va. State Bar Charleston, for complainant.

C. Andy Keenan, pro se.

PER CURIAM:

This disciplinary proceeding was instituted by the Committee on Legal Ethics of the West Virginia State Bar against C. Andy Keenan, a member of the Bar. The Committee found that Mr. Keenan engaged in a pattern and practice of neglect because of his failure: (1) to communicate with three different clients, (2) to act with reasonable diligence in the representation of clients, (3) to keep clients reasonably informed, and (4) to return timely an unearned fee. Although Mr. Keenan alleged that this pattern and practice of neglect stemmed from his psychological and psychiatric problems, he failed to submit evidence that these problems had stabilized. The Committee recommends that this Court suspend Mr. Keenan's license to practice law until Mr. Keenan establishes the stabilization of his psychological and psychiatric disorder and his possession of "the present psychological and mental capacity to provide effective, thorough, and complete representation to his clients." The Committee also recommends that Mr. Keenan be required to pay the costs of this and any subsequent proceedings. Based on our review of the record, we find that Mr. Keenan is guilty of ethical violations and adopt the recommendations of the Committee.

I

The charges against Mr. Keenan are based on three separate complaints. The first complaint was made by Roger Bailey, who in 1985 retained Mr. Keenan after he was injured when he slipped and fell at a post office on January 24, 1985. Because Mr. Keenan took no action on the matter except for providing the federal government with an initial notice of a potential claim and sending a few perfunctory letters, the statute of limitations expired before a suit was filed. After the initial visit and some early telephone conversations, Mr. Keenan failed to return Mr. Bailey's telephone calls and did not otherwise communicate with Mr. Bailey.

In February 1989, Mr. Bailey filed an ethics complaint against Mr. Keenan (No. 89-041). Mr. Keenan, by letter dated March 15, 1989, admitted that Mr. Bailey's allegations were "generally, true" and promised to contact Mr. Bailey. After Mr. Keenan failed to contact him, on May 10, 1989, Mr. Bailey discharged Mr. Keenan and demanded his file. However, the file was never returned because it was lost by Mr. Keenan. Mr. Bailey sought redress through a malpractice claim that was settled. The settlement requires Mr. Keenan to pay $20,000, plus accumulated interest, in installments over a two year period to Mr. Bailey. However, because of Mr. Keenan's finances, the installment payments have been sporadic and a substantial sum remained unpaid as of April 19, 1991.

The second complaint was made by Mary Moore, who, in January 1983, retained Mr. Keenan to file a partition suit over land in Clay County in which Arnold Moore, Mrs. Moore's husband, reportedly had a 5/6 interest. In April 1983, Mr. Keenan, by letter, requested information concerning the land and, shortly thereafter, Mr. Moore provided the requested information. During the next four years, although Mr. and Mrs. Moore made several attempts to contact Mr. Keenan, Mr. Keenan did not return their calls and did not file the partition suit.

After Mr. Moore's death in 1986, Mrs. Moore discovered that no suit had been filed and, on August 3, 1987, Mrs. Moore wrote to Mr. Keenan requesting action. In his response of August 20, 1987, Mr. Keenan promised that the suit would be filed as soon as possible. Suit was filed in June 1988.

Although Mrs. Moore informed Mr. Keenan that she would be in Florida for the winter, Mr. Keenan failed to return Mrs. Moore's calls before she left. On October 11, 1988, Mrs. Moore wrote to Mr. Keenan asking why he had failed to tell her about her case and to respond to her calls. Mr. Keenan failed to respond. In February 1989, Mrs. Moore filed an ethics complaint against Mr. Keenan (No. 89-049).

By letter dated April 8, 1989, Mr. Keenan admitted that he had been dilatory in handling Mrs. Moore's case and said that he would conclude it as soon as possible. However, Mr. Keenan again failed to return Mrs. Moore's calls and failed to contact her before she left for Florida. On October 7, 1989, Mrs. Moore wrote Mr. Keenan asking for information about her suit, requesting information about the possibility of purchasing the land's remaining 1/6 interest, and complaining about Mr. Keenan's failure to communicate with her. Again, Mr. Keenan failed to respond. By letter dated June 7, 1990, Mrs. Moore discharged Mr. Keenan and demanded her file. Mr. Keenan apologized and on July 31, 1990 sent Mrs. Moore's file to her new attorney.

The third complaint was made by John B. Detamore who on October 9, 1989 retained Mr. Keenan to file a divorce action immediately and paid Mr. Keenan a $400 flat fee. Mr. Keenan failed to file the suit and after Mr. Detamore received a divorce complaint from his wife on November 3, 1989, he began calling Mr. Keenan's office two or three times a day to find out why the suit was not filed. After Mr. Keenan was unavailable to talk with him and failed to return his calls, on November 14, 1989, Mr. Detamore discharged Mr. Keenan, hired another lawyer and demanded the return of the $400 fee. Although in December 1989 Mr. Keenan purchased a money order payable to Mr. Detamore, Mr. Keenan failed to send the money order until June of 1990. Because Mr. Detamore was unavailable, Mr. Keenan testified before the Committee about Mr. Detamore's complaint.

Although Mr. Keenan was unable to recall all of the details, he did not contest the charges and admitted that the allegations were consistent with the matters he remembered. Mr. Keenan demonstrated contrition about the ethical violations and about the harm caused to his clients. Mr. Keenan maintained he suffers from "a bipolar mental or emotional disorder (of a...

To continue reading

Request your trial
10 cases
  • Committee on Legal Ethics of the West Virginia State Bar v. Hobbs, 21858
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of West Virginia
    • 9 Diciembre 1993
    ...by the State Bar Ethics Committee ... are to be given substantial consideration. In accord, Syl. Pt. 2, Committee on Legal Ethics v. Keenan, 189 W.Va. 37, 427 S.E.2d 471 (1993) (per curiam); Syl. Pt. 2, Committee on Legal Ethics v. Mitchell, 187 W.Va. 287, 418 S.E.2d 733 (1992). See Committ......
  • Committee on Legal Ethics of The West Virginia State Bar v. Cometti, 21506
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of West Virginia
    • 30 Marzo 1993
    ...and clear evidence the charges contained in the complaint filed on behalf of the Committee." See also Committee on Legal Ethics v. Keenan, 189 W.Va. 37, 427 S.E.2d 471 (1993); Committee on Legal Ethics v. Charonis, 184 W.Va. 268, 400 S.E.2d 276 (1990). Although we agree that Mr. Cometti has......
  • Lawyer Disciplinary Bd. v. Morgan
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of West Virginia
    • 16 Octubre 2020
    ...(license suspended for three months for failure to act diligently and for failure to communicate); Comm. on Legal Ethics of W. Va. State Bar v. Keenan , 189 W. Va. 37, 427 S.E.2d 471 (1993) (lawyer's license suspended indefinitely for failure to provide competent representation, failure to ......
  • Committee on Legal Ethics of the West Virginia State Bar v. Karl, 22172
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of West Virginia
    • 20 Julio 1994
    ...and clear evidence the charges contained in the complaint filed on behalf of the Committee. See also Committee on Legal Ethics v. Keenan, 189 W.Va. 37, 427 S.E.2d 471 (1993); Committee on Legal Ethics v. Charonis, 184 W.Va. 268, 400 S.E.2d 276 THE WASHINGTON LANDS PROJECT In 1979, the three......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT