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Partition law can be extremely complicated, and one attorney is finding out the hard way that mishandling these claims can have severe, job-altering consequences.
The attorney in question, Thomas H. Evans, III, was attempting to navigate a partition suit in Wyoming County back in 2014. In the lawsuit, there was a property dispute among three co-owners, all siblings. Evans was representing two of the siblings, Margaret Shields and Steve Rife, but he reportedly failed to properly consider a third sibling, Dale Rife.
As Dale Rife sought an appeal to a default judgment that failed to consider him, Evans allegedly continued to facilitate the sale of the property.
What’s more, Dale Rife’s rightful portion of the proceeds, once the sale did go through, wasn’t handled properly. His share of the proceeds was reportedly around $13,000.
When this case was cracked open, additional complaints came forward. Margaret Shields and Steve Rife both discovered that their names had been signed on specific documents without their authorization. They filed a civil action against Evans for falsely notarizing the documents.
They also filed a complaint regarding bad legal advice they were provided. The two individuals claimed that Evans had advised them not to appear in a hearing regarding the case.
After hearing all the facts regarding the case, the Hearing Panel Subcommittee (HPS) found that Evans violated several Rules of Professional Conduct when handling the partition action.
For one, he failed to act with due diligence. For another, he failed to keep his clients properly informed regarding the situation.
On top of these accusations, Evans was also found responsible for mishandling his client’s funds, advising a non-client to refrain from providing information, and failing to respond to complaints filed by the opposing counsel and Dale Rife. Evans is also accused of being generally dishonest and misrepresenting the facts of the case.
As a result of these actions, Evans had his law license suspended for the next three months, effective immediately, at the request of the Lawyer Disciplinary Board. Even once he is reinstated, Evans will be required to undergo one year of supervised practice with another experienced attorney.
He will also need to complete six additional hours of Continuing Legal Education. On top of all this, Evans will also have to pay the legal costs associated with his disciplinary proceedings, totaling $5,218.43.
Evans has been licensed to practice law for over 20 years.
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Here at PartitionAction.com, our legal team is dedicated to helping clients across the country navigate challenges when they co-own a property and disagree on how to handle the situation. We have extensive experience helping our clients resolve their disputes and split up proceeds from the sale.
If you’re ready to get started on your partition action, schedule a free phone call with our lawyers now by leaving your contact details on our online form. We’ll discuss your partition action situation and help you determine if you need our services moving forward.
