Lawyer sued ex-client for fees, then served himself on ex-client's behalf, ethics officials say
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California ethics officials are recommending disbarment for a Fresno lawyer who obtained a default judgment in his fee suit against an ex-client by serving the court papers on himself, on the ex-client’s behalf.
The lawyer, Warren Paul Felger, obtained a default judgment of more than $35,000 against the former client, Central Green Mutual Water Company, according to the Dec. 12 opinion (PDF) by the Review Department of the State Bar Court of California. The Legal Profession Blog has highlights.
No one at Central Green received any court papers in the suit until Felger recorded the judgment, the Review Department said.
Felger had incorporated Central Green, and he was listed as the company’s agent for service of process. Central Green’s new lawyer notified Felger that the company had dropped Felger as legal counsel, but the new lawyer failed to remove Felger as agent for service of process.
Felger had asserted his conduct in the fee litigation was just a “petty stunt” intended to get the attention of the company’s CEO, Larry Freels, rather than an attempt to collect a surreptitious judgment. The Review Department said Felger’s argument was not persuasive.
“If Felger merely wished to get Freels’ attention, he could have served his lawsuit for legal fees on Freels in the first instance,” the opinion said.
The decision also noted Freels’ testimony that he served himself because it “was certainly the most expeditious way” to obtain the default judgment.
In a second matter, the Review Board found that Felger deposited about $4,000 in a client’s bankruptcy distributions in a general account, despite a promise to the client that the money would be held in a trust account until a fee dispute was resolved.
