In re Belding, No. 25750.

• Court: United States State Supreme Court of South Carolina
• Writing for the Court: PER CURIAM
• Citation: 589 S.E.2d 197,356 S.C. 319
• Parties: In the Matter of David E. BELDING, Respondent.
• Docket Number: No. 25750.
• Decision Date: 10 November 2003

356 S.C. 319
589 S.E.2d 197

In the Matter of David E. BELDING, Respondent

No. 25750.

Supreme Court of South Carolina.

Heard September 25, 2003.

Decided November 10, 2003.

356 S.C. 321

Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster and Senior Assistant Attorney General James G. Bogle, Jr., both of Columbia, for the Office of Disciplinary Counsel

John P. Freeman, of Columbia, for Respondent.

PER CURIAM:

In this attorney disciplinary matter, we hold that David E. Belding ("Respondent") shall be definitely suspended from the practice of law for a period of one year.

FACTS

Rucker-Taylor Matter

Todd Hunnicutt ("Mr. Hunnicutt") and Elizabeth Hunnicutt ("Ms. Hunnicutt") were having marital problems. According to Respondent, in the late summer of 2000, Mr. Hunnicutt approached Respondent and told him that he and his wife were undergoing a "Gestalt" method of therapy. Mr. Hunnicutt asked Respondent to create a fictitious set of divorce documents to "shock" his wife as prescribed by the therapy. According to this method, Ms. Hunnicutt would be "shocked" into mending the marriage upon seeing the fictitious documents.¹

As requested, Respondent prepared the documents. He drafted a Summons and Complaint titled Elizabeth Stenzel Hunnicutt v. A. Todd Hunnicutt. The documents bore a fictitious docket number with the last three digits handwritten, a fictitious filing stamp for the Clerk of Court of Newberry County, and the signature of "Mark J. Taylor," as Respondent purported to be.

Respondent continued to draft documents that appeared authentic.² He drafted a fictitious Consent Order to Change

356 S.C. 322

Venue from Newberry to Lexington County. On the document, Respondent signed the names "Mark J. Taylor" and "Warren Powell."³ He also signed "J. M. Rucker" in the block designated "presiding judge."

Respondent then drafted a letter on his own letterhead, which purported to be written to Taylor, indicating that he, Respondent, was now representing Mr. Hunnicutt in the divorce.

Respondent then prepared a false "Defendant's First Set of Interrogatories and First Request for Production." He signed his assistant's name to the certificate of mailing, purporting proper service of the Interrogatories. He then drafted a fictitious Request for Hearing form, bearing "Mark J. Taylor" as counsel for Ms. Hunnicutt. Respondent then prepared a handwritten letter on his letterhead addressed to "Todd" and attached a fictitious settlement agreement bearing the false docket numbers.

The documents are entirely false and were never filed in any court. Respondent gave the documents to Mr. Hunnicutt. Ms. Hunnicutt found the documents in the trunk of Mr. Hunnicutt's car and was confused because she had not initiated the divorce action as suggested in the documents. She faxed the documents to a cousin in Missouri. The Missouri attorney confirmed that the documents appeared authentic and that a divorce action appeared to be underway.

The Missouri attorney contacted Taylor and Judge Rucker, neither of whom knew about the matter. In turn, Taylor and Judge Rucker contacted the Commission on Lawyer Conduct. The Attorney General's Office joined this matter with the Jennifer Carmen matter and issued formal charges accordingly.

356 S.C. 323

Jennifer Carmen Matter

In 1997, Jennifer Carmen ("Ms. Carmen") hired Respondent in an action to increase child support payments from her former husband. Respondent brought the action in Lexington County Family Court. Ms. Carmen's former husband, Mark Carmen ("Mr. Carmen"), who was represented by Nancy M. Young ("Young"), counterclaimed for additional visitation with the couple's son.

Respondent told Ms. Carmen that a hearing would take place on June 29, 1998. The Lexington County docketing clerk sent Respondent a Notice of Hearing indicating that the hearing had been set for June 23, 1998. Respondent failed to send Ms. Carmen a copy of the Notice, and he did not inform her of the change. As a result, Ms. Carmen and Respondent were not present at the June 23 hearing.

After the June 23 hearing, Young called Respondent and offered to settle the case. Respondent was unaware that he had missed the hearing. Young presented Respondent with an offer that would increase visitation rights for Mr. Carmen and would increase child support for Ms. Carmen. Respondent told her that he would call Ms. Carmen to obtain her consent to settle the matter. He was unable to reach Ms. Carmen and obtain her approval. Nevertheless, he called Young and accepted the offer to settle.

On June 26, 1998, Mr. Carmen contacted Ms. Carmen to ask her when he could pick up their son. Ms. Carmen did not know about the June 23 hearing or the subsequent settlement agreement. She contacted Respondent to find out about the status of her case. Respondent assured her that he would call the court to find out the results of the hearing. He admitted to missing the hearing date and encouraged her to agree to the terms of the proposed settlement. He reiterated that the settlement terms were consistent with what a judge would order, but Ms. Carmen refused to consent to the proposed settlement.

In late July 1998, Ms. Carmen went to Respondent's office to retrieve her file. The file contained a copy of the settlement agreement that she never signed.

356 S.C. 324

On July 29, 1998, Young filed a Motion to Compel Settlement. Respondent received a copy of this Motion and informed Ms. Carmen that a hearing on the Motion was set for September 4, 1998

On August 4, 1998, Respondent filed a Motion to be Relieved as Counsel in the case. He did not notify Ms. Carmen that he had filed this Motion.

On September 4, 1998, Respondent and Ms. Carmen attended the scheduled hearing. The court was the first to inform Ms. Carmen of Respondent's Motion to be Relieved as Counsel. She agreed to find another counsel. Judge Sawyer issued an Order granting Young's Motion to Compel Settlement but ruled that the issues of reasonableness and fairness would be heard de novo on November 17, 1998.

After Respondent was relieved as counsel, Ms. Carmen hired Kenneth H. Lester ("Lester") to represent her at the November hearing. Lester also helped negotiate a...