Facts: Our client BA, hired firm to represent him against a complaint filed against himself and his funeral home by a family member of a decedent they recently serviced. The complaint was investigated by the Commission and no misconduct was found based on the complaint. However, during the investigation the Commission found other misconduct relating to documentation. They issued BA a hefty fine.
Outcome: The firm rejected payment of the fines and argued that the matter should be dismissed. The firm argued that some of the documentation errors were not committed by BA, but by another 3rd party. The firm further argued that another error was the responsibility of that same 3rd party. Lastly, the firm argued that based on BA’s lack of disciplinary history, the rest of the errors were unintentional mistakes. The Commission finally agreed and issued BA a warning letter. This warning letter required nothing of BA and was not public record nor subject to an open records request. The matter was therefore dismissed.