Michele M. Askar
112 Brookhaven Drive
Aliquippa, PA 15001
Date:
Office of Disciplinary Counsel
437 Grant St.
Suite 1300
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
(412) 565-3137
Re: COMPLAINT AGAINST ATTORNEY
Complainant, Michele M. Askar, hereby submits this Complaint against Conrad J. Benedetto
(hereinafter “the Attorney”), who is an Attorney licensed to practice law in the State of
Pennsylvania. Accordingly, the Complainant has stated the facts and allegations of violations
herein below.
Factual Background
1. The Attorney represented the Plaintiff in Plaintiff’s case at the Common Pleas
Court of Pennsylvania, for the County of Beaver. (Case No: 11305 of 2013 and 11306 of 2013)
(hereinafter, “the case”).
2. The Plaintiff and her husband had leased an office space from the Defendants in
the said case. On August 22, 2011, there was a heavy downpour that soaked the carpet at the
office and wetted the floor. On August 25, 2011, when the Plaintiff reported to work in the
office, she found the office flooded with water.
3. When the said Defendants were informed of the goings-on, they sent cleaners to
deal clear the water. Upon further investigations, it was discovered that the flooding was
probably caused by an overflow of the drainage pipe at the roof drain.
4. Consequently, the Plaintiff continued occupying the office premises but
complained of the moisture and odor in the premises. The condition posed a health hazard to
Plaintiff. Eventually, Plaintiff closed the business and vacated the office on April 26, 2012, and
August 1, 2012, respectively.
5. On August 19, 2013, the Plaintiff instituted a legal action against the Defendants
in the case, and hired the Attorney.
6. Trials were scheduled between June 1 to June 4, 2021, at Beaver County Court
House, Beaver, PA. After the trial, the Plaintiff failed to make any communication with
Plaintiff.
7. On June 16, 2021, the Court held that there was no credible evidence to determine
that the flooding had caused unsafe levels of mold and fungus.
8. It was not until July 5, 2021, when Plaintiff e-mailed Mr. Wilkey, the attorney’s
co-counsel (hereinafter “Co-Counsel”), regarding a copy of the judgment that Plaintiff received
in the mail.
9. On July 5, 2021, Plaintiff immediately sent the co-counsel a copy expressing her
lack of understanding what was going on. His email response was that he was no longer a part of
the case. At that time, the co-counsel advised Plaintiff to contact the attorney. When Plaintiff
contacted the attorney’s office, he was not available to take Plaintiff’s call. Plaintiff made
repeated phone calls to the attorney’s office with no returned calls.
10. On July 19, 2021, the Plaintiff received a letter from the attorney containing the
judge’s decision. The attorney further stated that he would call Plaintiff to discuss the judge’s
decision.
11. On Tuesday July 20, 2021, Plaintiff received a call from the attorney regarding
his letter and the judge’s decision. He stated that he did not think there was anything to appeal,
and that he was going to contact the co-counsel to investigate further and judgment dropped. He
further promised to call Plaintiff back by Friday, July 23, 2021. He failed to make the said call.
12. On August 1, 2021, Plaintiff made multiple calls to the attorney’s cell-phone.
However, Plaintiff received a disconnected message.
13. On August 6, 2021, Plaintiff sent an email to Bruni Diaz expressing her
frustration and concern regarding the lack of communication from Mr. Benedetto and the next
steps to file an appeal. It was then that the Plaintiff realized that she was abandoned by her
attorney.
14. On August 18, 2021, Plaintiff received a letter from her father’s bank, Citizens
informing her that money is on hold in her father’s account of which Plaintiff was on for check
writing purposes only. It was then that Plaintiff discovered that money was also taken out of her
personal account and her son’s account that was set up as an ITF.
15. Plaintiff then attempted to reach the attorney to no avail. She was highly
concerned that her finances were being taken with no understanding of what was happening.
16. When Plaintiff made multiple visits and made phone calls to Citizens and
Wesbanco, they advise her to reach out to the attorney on the Writ of Execution.
17. On August 26, 2021 at 1:19pm, Plaintiff received a phone call from Mr. Stan
Smith, who was an expert witness for Plaintiff’s testimony. Plaintiff had called Mr. Smith to
check whether he had any knowledge of Mr. Benedetto, which would explain his non-
communication with Plaintiff. Interestingly, Mr. Smith stated that he spoke to Conrad frequently,
as they worked on multiple cases together.
18. On August 26, 2021, Plaintiff contacted Mr. Ron Elliot as advised by the banks’
legal department to discuss the Writ on her father’s account. Mr. Ron also never returned
Plaintiff’s call.
19. On Friday August 27, 2021 at 3:20pm, the Attorney finally reached out stating he
would call Mr. Elliot to negotiate the Writ of Execution.
20. On Friday, August 27, 2021, at 3:51pm, the attorney called Plaintiff back
informing her that Mr. Elliot was going to inquire with Mr. Betters, who was the Defendant in
the aforementioned case, to reduce the judgment and work out a payment plan so as not to
deplete Plaintiff’s finances “all at once”. Additionally, he wanted the contact information of the
bank managers so he could contact them on Plaintiff’s behalf to confirm the money was illegally
taken.
21. On September 7, 2021, Plaintiff sent the attorney and his co-counsel an email
requesting her case file in its entirety. On September 7, 2021, Plaintiff called the attorney’s office
and spoke to Natalie Bonfiglio to confirm receipt of the email and when could she expect the
requested file.
22. On September 10, 2021, the attorney called at 4:35pm upon which Plaintiff
notified the attorney of her incessant attempts to contact the attorney. Plaintiff then texted the
attorney the contact information of the bank managers.
23. On September 10, 2021, at 4:48 pm, Plaintiff emailed Mrs. Barb Plutko to notify
her and give her permission to speak to the attorney on Plaintiff’s behalf. To date, the attorney
has not contacted either bank.
24. On October 26, 2021, it was learnt that the attorney has not filed a praecipe to
withdraw his appearance as Plaintiff’s attorney.
25. Complainant therefore files the instant complaint against the said Attorney for the
aforesaid reasons.
Violations
i. Violations of the Pennsylvania's Rules of Professional Conduct
A. Communication
26. According to Rule 1.4 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct, a
lawyer should “promptly inform the client of any decision or circumstance with respect to which
the client’s informed consent is required; reasonably consult with the client about the means by
which the client’s objectives are to be accomplished; [and] keep the client reasonably informed
about the status of the matter; promptly comply with reasonable requests for information…”
27. In the instant action, Plaintiff submits that the Attorney failed to update the
Plaintiff on the goings-on, or to keep effective communication, which jeopardized Plaintiff’s
case. For instance, Plaintiff made repeated phone calls to the attorney’s office with no returned
calls. On July 5, 2021, Plaintiff had to send the co-counsel a notice expressing her lack of
understanding what was going on in the case, and why the attorney was not communicating. The
fact pattern shows how the Plaintiff attempted to seek for information on the progress of the
case, and for communication from the attorney, to no avail. Besides, the attorney made several
promises to contact Plaintiff, which promises he did not keep.
B. Diligence
28. Rule 1.3 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct provides that a
lawyer “must act with commitment and dedication to the interests of the client and with zeal in
advocacy upon the client’s behalf.” Further, “[u]nless the relationship is terminated as provided
in Rule 1.16, a lawyer should carry through to conclusion all matters undertaken for a client.”
Under Rule 1.16, a lawyer must comply with applicable law requiring notice to or permission of
a tribunal when terminating a representation.
29. In the instant case, the Attorney failed to commit himself to the interests of the
Plaintiff when he failed to maintain prompt communication with client; when he failed to seek
ways to challenge the Court’s order; when he failed to negotiate with the Banks’ managers, and
with the Defendant to have the Writ of Execution demand reasonable amounts for Plaintiff. The
attorney also failed to properly terminate the relationship with the Plaintiff. Notably, the attorney
went silent and failed to return Plaintiff’s calls.
C. Misconduct
30. Under Rule 8.4 of the Rules of Professional Conduct, it is a professional
misconduct to violate or attempt to violate the Rules of Professional Conduct, knowingly assist
or induce another to do so, or do so through the acts of another.
31. In the instant action, the Attorney’s conduct as alleged hereinabove amounted to
misconduct.
ii. Breach of fiduciary duty
32. A breach of fiduciary duty is a tort that may permit both legal and equitable
remedies. See Dan B. Dobbs et al., The Law of Torts § 699 (2d ed. 2019); see also Restatement
(Second) of Torts § 874 cmt. b. ("[a] fiduciary who commits a breach of his duty as a fiduciary is
guilty of tortious conduct to the person for whom he should act.
33. In the instant action, the Plaintiff and the attorney had entered an attorney-client
relationship. The attorney therefore owed a duty to the Plaintiff in accordance with the Rules of
Professional Conduct. However, the attorney failed to fulfill his obligations when he failed to
communicate with the Plaintiff; and when he failed to update Plaintiff on the goings-on in the
case.
34. As a result of the breach, Plaintiff lost effective representation of her case, which
led to her incurring expenses and losses.
iii. Attorney negligence
35. Legal malpractice claims generally require a plaintiff to prove that they had a
viable cause for relief in the underlying case and that their attorney was negligent in their
representation. McPeake v. William T. Cannon. Esquire. P.C. 381 Pa. Super. 227, 553 A.2d 439,
441 (1989). In order to establish this claim, a plaintiff/aggrieved client must demonstrate three
basic elements: (1) employment of the attorney or another basis for a duty owed to a plaintiff; (2)
the failure of the attorney to exercise ordinary skill and knowledge; and (3) that such negligence
was the proximate cause of damage to the plaintiff. Kituskie v. Corbman. 552 Pa. 275, 714 A.2d
1027, 1029 (2008).
36. In the instant case, the Plaintiff had hired the attorney to represent her in her case
at the Common Pleas Court of Pennsylvania, for the County of Beaver. (Case No: 11305 of
2013 and 11306 of 2013). The attorney failed to exercise his duty when he failed to update
Plaintiff on the goings-on in the case, when he failed to communicate with the Plaintiff, and
when he failed to adequately prepare transactional documents for and during trial.
37. As a result of the attorney’s negligent conduct, Plaintiff had to proceed without
effective representation, which impeded her access to justice thus causing her unnecessary costs
and expenses enumerated below.
iv. Abandonment
38. State rules of professional conduct enumerate an attorney's duties to his or her
client. The Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct govern the conduct of attorneys
practicing law in Pennsylvania. See Pa. Mfrs.' Ass'n Ins.Co. v. Wolfe, 626 A.2d 522, 527 (Pa.
1993) (explaining that the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct define certain duties that
attorneys owe to their clients and govern the practice of law in Pennsylvania); In re Birmingham
Twp., Del. County, 597 A.2d 253, 255 (Pa.Commw.Ct. 1991) (indicating that "[a]n attorney's
conduct concerning the representation of his [or her] client is governed by the [Pennsylvania]
Rules of Professional Conduct").
39. Further, Rule 1.16 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure states that a
lawyer should carry through to conclusion all matters undertaken for a client. Further, Rule 1.16
states that a lawyer must comply with applicable law requiring notice to or permission of a
tribunal when terminating a representation.
40. In the instant case, the attorney went silent and failed to communicate with the
Plaintiff regarding her case. The attorney also failed to file a notice of termination of the
representation in Court. Accordingly, the attorney’s conduct amounts to abandonment.
How Plaintiff has suffered as a result of the attorney’s conduct
As a result of the attorney’s conduct, the case has continued to progress without Plaintiff
having proper legal representation to put forth her claims. Accordingly, a writ of execution was
issued in favor of the Defendants. Under the circumstances, Plaintiff was also constrained to file
a motion to stay writ of execution as a pro se litigant.
Plaintiff further incurred the following expenses:
Judgment Rendered $ 90, 260.00
Bank Fees Incurred $ 250.00
Docket Sheets (partial) $ 5.50
Copy of Trial Hearing Transcripts $ 562.50
Fee for legal writing of Pro Se Motion
to Stay in proper context
$ 230.00
Fee for legal writing of Mr. Benedetto’s
Letter to Withdraw Representation
$ 135.00
Postage to C.J. Betters and Entities for
filing the Pro Se Motion to Stay
$ 9.16
Postage to Attorney Benedetto for
Withdrawal of Representation Letter
$ 7.38
5 Copies of each document to File The
Motion to Stay Execution Pro Se per the
county rules
(.49cents per page x 85 pages= $41.65 x 5
copies)
$208.25
FEE paid to MALPRACTICING ATTORNEY $122,987.98
Conclusion
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff submits that the Attorney be found liable for violation of the
said rules. The Complainant further requests that the Attorney be ordered to: return Plaintiff’s
file in its entirety; reimburse Plaintiff for the fees paid to him from the earlier portion of the
settlement; other fees including bank fees and fees for pro se filings. Plaintiff prays that the
attorney pays the total cost identified above. Finally, the Plaintiff prays this Board to take any
other appropriate measure(s) against the Attorney for his conduct as alleged herein.
Respectfully submitted,
_________________
Michele M. Askar
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