NOTICE OF SUSPENSION Case No. 00-138-GA Notice Issued: February 23, 2001 Philip L. Dulmage, P-13009, Flint, Michigan, by the Attorney Discipline Board Genesee County Hearing Panel #4.
1. Suspension - 180 Days; 2. Effective February 19, 2001. The hearing panel found, by default, that respondent had committed the professional misconduct alleged in Formal Complaint 00-138-GA, specifically: That in one civil litigation matter, respondent canceled 13 appointments with his client; failed to timely review an opposing party=s discovery requests necessitating extensions; failed to conduct discovery after receiving an extension; failed to inform his client of court dates; failed to respond to letters and telephone messages from his client; and failed to provide his client with discovery requests from the opposing party until after the due date. In another civil litigation matter, respondent failed to appear for two court appearances with resulted in a default judgment against his client; and falsely blamed his secretary for both instances where he failed to appear in court, claiming that the secretary did not put the dates on the calendar and did not otherwise inform him of the court dates. Respondent=s conduct was in violation of MCR 9.104(1)-(4); and Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1; 1.3; 1.4; 4.1; 5.3; and 8.4(a)-(c).
The hearing panel ordered that respondent=s license be suspended for 180 days. Costs were assessed in the amount of $877.36.