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The Indiana Supreme Court issued misconduct-related suspension orders this week for an East Chicago attorney and an Indianapolis lawyer.
James Dillon, based in East Chicago, faces a suspension from the practice of law for a period of 180 days, beginning Nov. 4, with 90 days actively served and the remainder stayed subject to completion of at least two years of probation with monitoring by the Indiana Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program.
Dillon told Indiana Lawyer he agreed to a resolution between himself and the Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission, but otherwise had no comment on the suspension order.
In its order disciplining Dillon, the court stated that the East Chicago attorney had neglected four client matters.
In the first, Dillon represented a seller attempting to reclaim two commercial properties from the estate of a buyer who died after making only 17 of 180 monthly installment payments.
Dillon did not respond to the client’s repeated requests for information or the estate’s motion to disallow the claim, which was granted.
The order also stated that Dillon failed to respond to at various hearings and status conferences for clients in two other cases
In a fourth case, Dillon represented a defendant in a suit alleging fraud, unjust enrichment, and conversion.
Dillon failed to comply with discovery, leading to multiple motions to compel and to impose sanctions, the state supreme court said.
Shortly after Dillon failed to appear at a sanctions hearing in June 2022, the plaintiff moved for default judgment. In August 2022, default judgment was granted against the client in the amount of $122,541.03.
The court also ordered a suspension for Indianapolis attorney Adam Warnke.
It suspended Warnke from the practice of law for a period of 60 days, beginning Nov. 4, with 30 days actively served and the remainder stayed subject to completion of at least two years of probation with monitoring by the Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program.
When reached by Indiana Lawyer Wednesday, Warnke declined to immediately comment on the order but said he would contact the publication later if he wished to respond.
According to court records, in February 2019, clients retained Warnke and paid him $1,766 to complete an agreed adoption.
By July 2019, the clients had signed an adoption petition and other preliminary issues had been resolved, including the biological mother’s signing of a consent to adoption and release for the child’s medical records.
For the next 15 months, Warnke failed to meaningfully advance the matter and to respond to the clients’ inquiries, the court said.
In January 2021, the local court twice ordered Warnke to file the required records; and when he did not do so, the court scheduled a dismissal hearing for March.
In August 2022, the clients notified Warnke that the child was about to turn 18 and would be graduating in the spring, and asked for a refund because the attorney did not complete the adoption.
According to the disciplinary order, Warnke did not respond to that communication or to several others in the ensuing months. He likewise did not respond to multiple demands for information made by the disciplinary commission during its investigation of the matter.
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