More Than A Whisper

A reciprocal one-year and fitness suspension has been imposed by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals as a result of a Missouri suspension for unauthorized communication with a represented party.

Mr. Chaganti‟s indefinite suspension from the Missouri bar stemmed from actions he took in a civil suit he filed against Lafayne Manse. Mr. Chaganti sued Mr. Manse for breach of contract in relation to heating and cooling services Mr. Manse was supposed to provide to Whispering Oaks Residential Care Facility, a business Mr. Chaganti not only represented as an attorney but also managed and owned. At various times throughout three years of litigation, Mr. Chaganti asked to talk directly with Mr. Manse, but in each instance, Mr. Manse‟s counsel, Thomas DeVoto, refused to permit direct contact between his client and Mr. Chaganti. At one point, Mr. Manse tried to reach out to Mr. Chaganti directly, but Mr. Chaganti declined to speak with him and referred him to Mr. DeVoto. Whispering Oaks‟s complaint was ultimately dismissed for failure to prosecute. Immediately after the case was dismissed, while the parties were still at the courthouse, Mr. Chaganti indicated that he was certain he could resolve his dispute if only he and Mr. Manse could speak directly. Mr. DeVoto then reminded Mr. Chaganti that he still represented Mr. Manse in the matter, and that Mr. Chaganti still did not have permission to communicate with Mr. Manse. Mr. DeVoto also warned Mr. Chaganti that he would file a complaint with the Missouri Bar if Mr. Chaganti contacted Mr. Manse.

Mr. Chaganti ignored Mr. DeVoto‟s warning and, the following day, wrote a letter to Mr. Manse.  Mr. Chaganti informed Mr. Manse that he planned to refile the lawsuit and would add as a defendant Mr. Manse‟s employer, who apparently was unaware that Mr. Manse had independently contracted to do business with Whispering Oaks. Mr. Chaganti then advised Mr. Manse that he could avoid further litigation by discussing settlement, but he would have to “place a larger  sum of money to settle than [Mr. DeVoto] has offered.” Mr. Chaganti warned Mr. Manse that he “should think seriously whether it is in your best interests to go to court again or to close this matter at this time.”

The suspended attorney argued that several of the exceptions to reciprocal discipline applied. The court rejected each claim.

 As to the contention that D.C. would impose “substantially different” discipline

It appears that we have no cases discussing what discipline should be imposed, as an original matter, for contacting a represented party and making analogous intimidating and extortionary statements. But in In re Ras, 884 A.2d 44 (D.C. 2005), we imposed a one-year suspension as reciprocal discipline where another jurisdiction determined that the attorney had, inter alia, communicated with a represented party and threatened to pursue criminal charges to gain advantage in a civil matter.

(Mike Frisch)