The Alabama Supreme Court holds that an attorney's failure to disclose an heir to the probate court was a continuing violation and therefore ethics charges by the state bar against the attorney are not time-barred. F.L.C. v. Alabama State Bar (Ala., No. 1080291, Sept. 4, 2009).
Robert Jesse Johnson died in a boarding home. His siblings met with attorney F.L.C. about a wrongful death action against the boarding home. F.L.C. told them that Mr. Johnson's father would have to initiate the lawsuit. The heirs informed F.L.C. that Mr. Johnson's father authorized them to pursue the wrongful death suit. In March 2000, F.L.C. filed a petition to administer Mr. Johnson's estate without mentioning Mr. Johnson's father as one of the heirs. Mr. Johnson's father was finally listed as his heir in December 2002.
In September 2006, the Alabama State Bar filed ethics charges against F.L.C., alleging that he filed a false petition for administration and that he failed to notify the court of Mr. Johnson's father's existence throughout the probate proceeding. The Disciplinary Board found F.L.C. guilty, and he accepted a private reprimand and agreed to pay restitution. F.L.C. appealed, arguing that the violation occurred in 2000, so it was outside the six-year statute of limitations.
The Alabama Supreme Court affirms, holding that the charges were timely filed. The court finds that the failure of F.L.C. to disclose to the probate court until 2002 that Mr. Johnson's father was his heir "is equivalent to and constituted a continuing misrepresentation to the probate court." Therefore, the ethics violations occurred within the statute of limitation.
For the full text of this decision, go to: https://attorney.elderlawanswers.com/full-text-of-opinion-in-flc-v-alabama-state-bar-ala-no-1080291-sept-4-2009-7850
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