Despite the presence of a pickup truck outside, the law office of Winfield attorney John Grafton is vacant after his landlord in March received judgment against him in a lawsuit seeking unpaid rent, and immediate possession of the office. (Photo by Lawrence Smith)
CHARLESTON -– In the midst of being asked to suspend a Putnam County attorney for failing to file a client’s appeal, the state Supreme Court is also asked to immediately suspend him for abandoning his law practice.
The Court has on its docket Thursday the case of Lawyer Disciplinary Board v. John A. Grafton. The Board is asking the Court to suspend Grafton, 41, a Winfield attorney, for one year following an investigation that found he missed the deadline to file Cheryl and Danny Briscoe’s personal injury suit to the Court in 2007.
Also Thursday, the Court will consider a separate petition filed by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel to immediately suspend Grafton’s license. Records show ODC filed its petition two months after the Court in January agreed to hear the Board’s case against him.
In its petition, ODC states in the midst of completing its investigation into the Briscoe complaint, it received eight others against Grafton, six of which came after July 22, 2009. All the complaints allege Grafton has in some way either failed to communicate with the person or has not been diligent in pursuing his or her case.
According to ODC, Grafton has only filed a response to two of the pending ethics complaints. Attempts to contact him including telephone calls and personal visits to his office only found his number disconnected, and the door locked.
On March 17, Grafton’s landlord received default judgment against him in a civil suit in Putnam Magistrate Court. The judgment gave the landlord immediate possession of the office on 3655 Winfield Road, and ordered Graton to vacate it by 5 p.m. that day.
In light of failing to inform them of that fact, ODC filed its petition for immediate suspension. In its petition, ODC said Grafton not only put his clients’ interest at “substantial risk,” but he also posed “a substantial threat to the public” by abandoning his practice in the midst of the complaints against him.
Five days later, the Court authorized Chief Putnam Circuit Judge Phillip M. Stowers to appoint a trustee for Grafton’s clients’ files. Records show he later appointed Poca attorney Richard M. Whitt to the task.
As of presstime, Grafton has yet to file an answer to either the Board’s request for the one-year suspension in the Briscoe case or ODC’s petition for immediate suspension.
West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, case numbers 35283 (Board suspension) and 11-0480 (ODC immediate suspension)