Two Reprimands And A Caution

A Panel of the Arkansas Committee on Professional Conduct has reprimanded an attorney for instituting and maintaining frivolous litigation against his son’s school.

His son ( J.S. ) was a five year old kindergartener

The facts are more fully set out in the pleadings and the opinion of the Arkansas Court of Appeals issued June 19, 2013. In Summary, J.S, used the “F-word” at school on three occasions, starting February 29, 2012. On the first occasion he was counseled at school. On the second occasion a note was sent home with J.S. Mr. Swindle signed the note and had it returned to the school. On the third occasion, on March 13, 2013, the school principal contacted the Respondent/father by telephone at 11:15 a.m. to come pick J.S. up, as he was being suspended for the remainder of the school day for another use of the F-word.  Mr. Swindle declined to do so, and informed Ms. Turner that if she suspended his son he would file a lawsuit.

Ms. Turner called and left a voice message on a telephone number she believed to be that of Mrs. Davia Swindle, wife of Respondent and also an employee in her husband’s law firm, which was located within a three minute drive of the son’s school.

Rather than come to school and pick up his son, or have him picked up by an authorized adult, after a brief 1:30 p.m. court appearance before Judge Duncan in Bentonville, a drive of 30-35 minutes at most from his law office, Respondent returned to his office, prepared his complaint against the Rogers Board of Education and Principal Turner in about 15 minutes, returned to Bentonville where he filed it at 2:51 p.m. that same day, and then personally took a copy to Ms. Turner at school in Rogers after the close of the school day. The son was gone from school by the time Respondent arrived with the Complaint.

The complaint sought the son’s return to school pending a hearing and a jury trial.

Meanwhile

Because neither parent came to school and picked up J.S., he served about 3.5 hours of in-school suspension on March 13 in Principal Turner’s office doing school work until the end of the normal school day at 2:45 pm., at which time he was picked up by someone.

The case was thrown out on summary judgment and was affirmed on appeal.

The school board paid over $7,000 in legal fees.

The committee concluded that he had violated Rules 3.1, 4.4(a) and 8.4(d).

The Panel cautioned the same attorney in an unrelated matter

By a unanimous vote, that the conduct of Ken D. Swindle violated Rule 8.4(d) in that by filing and pursuing a hasty and frivolous lawsuit against Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance over the Dornan and Perez settlement checks through three courts, Swindle caused the unnecessary use of time and resources of multiple courts for no reasonable purpose, conduct by Swindle that is prejudicial to the administration of justice.

And in a third matter, another reprimand for fee sharing with a non-lawyer. (Mike Frisch)