Disciplinary Board of The Supreme Court of The State of North Dakota v. Seaworth12/6/1999
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[ ] Sorenson's letters of January 19, March 15, and April 25, 1994, indicate Seaworth had not responded to the November 29, 1993, offer. Seaworth argues his correspondence referred to the fact Sorenson wanted her to respond with a counteroffer, which she claimed she was unauthorized to give.
[ ] On March 2, 1995, Sorenson wrote to Seaworth:
I last wrote to you in October of 1994, which was a reminder or follow-up letter to a September 26, 1994, letter . . . you indicated that you would get back to me . . . there has not been any formal response from you. I am not sure what more I can do to resolve this matter.
Seaworth testified she telephoned Sorenson and told him she did not have a response.
[ ] On April 4, 1995, Sorenson sent a letter to Seaworth stating he was following up on his letters of September and October of 1994, a subsequent telephone call from Motl, telephone conversations between Sorenson and Seaworth, and his March 2, 1995, letter. The April 4, 1995, letter stated, "I really think that on behalf of your client, you should respond."
[ ] In a May 8, 1995, letter to Seaworth, the Bureau's claims supervisor wrote, "Attached is a copy of a letter dated April 4, 1995 . . . a response has not been received. Don't you plan on making any response?"
[ ] In a June 1, 1995, letter to Motl, the Bureau's unit supervisor wrote, "The Bureau has made numerous attempts to resolve your claim through your attorney, but your attorney has never responded to any of the correspondence."
[ ] Seaworth claims the way she handled responses to Sorenson's letters was part of a strategy for Motl's benefit. She also asserts Motl was an unresponsive client who did not know what she wanted and could not make decisions. Seaworth claims she did everything she could to work with Motl, but Motl refused to give access to psychological information needed to pursue her psychological claim against the Bureau. During Seaworth's representation of her, Motl received mail at two different addresses. Motl contacted the Bureau several times while Seaworth was representing her.
[ ] Motl admitted she was under treatment for psychological difficulties when Seaworth undertook representation of her. During Seaworth's representation, Motl may have been taking a tranquilizer, Tranxene, which may cause memory loss if the medication is abruptly discontinued. Motl denied suffering memory loss from taking Tranxene. She receives social security disability benefits due to her work injuries and, in part, due to her psychological disability.
[ ] Seaworth has been disciplined on two prior occasions: October 6, 1995, and February 13, 1997. In both instances, Seaworth received an admonition from the inquiry committee.
[ ] On May 1, 1998, Seaworth was served with a summons and petition for discipline alleging violations of N.D.R. Prof. Conduct 1.3 and 1.4. The matter was assigned to a hearing body, and the hearing body filed its findings and recommendations on April 29, 1999. The hearing body found Seaworth received sixteen letters from the Bureau to which she did not respond. The hearing body also found her failure to respond to at least thirteen of the letters prejudiced Motl's case. The hearing body found Seaworth had not made a reasonable effort to keep Motl informed about the status of her claim, and concluded Seaworth violated N.D.R. Prof. Conduct 1.3 and 1.4.
[ ] The hearing body recommended Seaworth be issued a reprimand and pay all costs of the disciplinary proceedings. The disciplinary board adopted the findings and recommendations, and ordered Seaworth be issued a reprimand and pay $3,507.25, the c
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