THE FLORIDA BAR. IN RE RALPH A. JOHNSTON

Fla. | 1976-01-28
No. 48574
ADKINS, C. J., and ROBERTS, BOYD, OVERTON and ENGLAND, JJ., concur.
327 So. 2d 9 Florida Supreme Court (1976) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

The Florida Bar sought discipline against attorney Ralph A. Johnston for professional misconduct involving neglect of client matters. The Supreme Court of Florida approved a conditional guilty plea and suspended Johnston for 89 days, with automatic reinstatement thereafter.


Holding

The court approved Johnston's conditional guilty plea to the disciplinary complaints and imposed a 89-day suspension with automatic reinstatement, finding violations of multiple disciplinary rules including those requiring competent representation, diligence, and proper communication with clients.


Headnotes

[1] A lawyer violates disciplinary rules by failing to take further action in a client's case for an extended period after performing initial services, without informing the…

[2] A lawyer violates disciplinary rules by failing to join all known potentially liable parties in a lawsuit, thereby causing the client to lose recourse against those parti…

Previewing 2 of 6 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Key Quotes

“At no time between July 28, 1972, and August 27, 1974, did Respondent inform Mr. King that he was withdrawing from Mr. King's case.”

Establishes Johnston's failure to notify client of withdrawal, demonstrating breach of duty to communicate.

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Johnston was retained by Albert King in October 1970 to handle legal matters arising from an accident, but took no action after July 28, 1972, and fai…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

This matter is before the Court on Petition for Approval of Conditional Guilty Plea and Entry of Final Order of Discipline.

The Florida Bar served two Complaints, May 8, 1975 and June 25, 1975 alleging as follows:

COMPLAINT, May 8, 1975

“1. The Respondent, Ralph A. Johnston is, and at all times hereinafter mentioned was, a member of The Florida Bar, subject to the jurisdiction and disciplinary rules of the Supreme Court of Florida.

2. This Complaint is filed by The Florida Bar, by direction of its Board of Governors, and all conditions prerequisite to the filing of said Complaint, required by the Integration Rule, have been fulfilled.

3. Shortly after an accident with Robert Patrick Payton on October 3, 1970, Albert King retained Respon dent to represent Mr. King in various legal matters arising out of the accident.

4. Respondent performed services in Mr. King’s behalf until July 28, 1972, after which Respondent took no further action in the matter until he received notice, on or about August 27, 1974, that Mr. King had filed a complaint with The Florida Bar. 5. At no time between July 28, 1972, and August 27, 1974, did Respondent inform Mr. King that he was withdrawing from Mr. King’s case.

6. On October 3, 1974, the day before the statute of limitations ran on Mr. King’s accident, Respondent filed suit against Insurance Company of North America, National Premium Budget Plan Corporation, and Kenneth Greenberg, individually, d/b/a 183rd Street Auto Tag Agency and as agent for Insurance Company of North America.

7. Although the driver of the other car involved in the accident with Mr. King, Robert Patrick Payton, and his corporate employer in whose behalf Mr. Payton was operating the car, were known to Respondent, he failed to join them in the suit or file separate suit against them in his client’s behalf and his client has therefore lost all right of recourse for his damages from these parties.

8. By reason of the foregoing, Respondent has violated Disciplinary Rules 6-101 (A) (3), 7-101 (A) (2) and 7-101 (A) (3) of the Code of Professional Responsibility.”

COMPLAINT, June 25, 1975

“1. The Respondent, Ralph A. Johnston, is, and at all times hereinafter mentioned was, a member of The Florida Bar, subject to the jurisdiction and disciplinary rules of the Supreme Court of Florida.

3. On or about December 31, 1973, Raymond T. Fay paid $500 by cashier’s check to Respondent for the purpose of retaining Respondent to represent Mr. Fay and his sister, Diane M. Seiling, concerning certain legal matters arising out of their deceased father’s estate.

4. Respondent deposited the $500 check on January 14, 1974.

5. Subsequent to retaining Respondent, Ms. Seiling and Mr. Fay tried on numerous occasions to contact Respondent concerning the status of the matters he was handling for them. Respondent failed to return their telephone calls and refused to receive registered letters they sent to him.

6. As of May 1, 1975, Respondent has not taken any action on behalf of his clients, Ms. Seiling and Mr. Fay, regarding the matters for which he was hired to handle.

7. By reason by the foregoing, Respondent has violated Rule 11.02(3) (a) of the Integration Rule, and Disciplinary Rules 1-102(6), 6-101(A)(3) and 7-101 (A)(1) and (2) of the Code of Professional Responsibility.”

The Petition for Approval of Conditional Guilty Plea and Entry of Final Order of Discipline is granted and Ralph A. Johnston is hereby suspended for 89 days, effective 45 days from this date, with automatic reinstatement at the end of said suspension.

Costs in the amount of Three Hundred Sixty-One Dollars ($361) are hereby taxed against respondent to be paid to The Florida Bar within thirty days from this date unless such time is extended by the Board of Governors of The Florida Bar for good cause shown.

It is so ordered.

ADKINS, C. J., and ROBERTS, BOYD, OVERTON and ENGLAND, JJ., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • THE Florida BAR v. Johnston, 347 So. 2d 1022 (Fla. 1977)
    …d be disbarment from the right to practice law in the State of Florida. Ralph A. Johnston has previously been the subject of disciplinary proceedings, having been suspended from the practice of law by this court on January 28, 1976, In re Johnston, 327 So. 2d 9 (Fla.1976), and again on April 28, 1976, In re Johnston, 332 So. 2d 13 (Fla.1976). We have examined the report of the referee and the record of the proceedings. We find the record sufficient to sustain the findings of the referee and to justify his…

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw