NOTICE OF SUSPENSION Case No. 95-281-GA; 96-25-FA Thomas R. Koopman, P-30995, Bridgeport, Michigan, by Attorney Discipline Board Genesee County Hearing Panel #3.
1) Suspension - three (3) years; 2) Effective May 2, 1996. Respondent was retained to represent a man in a claim against a furnace company, and filed an action in the Saginaw County Circuit Court. The panel found, by default, that respondent neglected the matter; failed to advise his client of the furnace company's offer for a $450 buyout on the original warranty or a new furnace; and knowingly made false statements to his client.
A couple retained respondent to institute legal proceedings against a trucking company. The panel found that respondent neglected the matter and knowingly made false statements to his clients. The clients filed a malpractice action against respondent. The panel found that respondent knowingly made false representations to opposing counsel and to the court in connection with the malpractice action.
Respondent's conduct was found to be in violation of MCR 9.104(1)-(4); and the Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct, 1.1(c); 1.3; 1.4; 3.2; 3.3(a)(1),(2)and(4); 3.4(b)and(c); and 8.4(a)-(c).
Based on the agreement of the parties, the panel concluded that respondent should be suspended from the practice of law in Michigan for a period of three years commencing May 2, 1996, the date of the last disciplinary hearing in this matter. Costs were assessed in the amount of $382.06.
NOTE: Respondent has been continuously suspended from the practice of law in Michigan since July 18, 1995.