Fred C. Dance v. Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee

Tennessee attorney Fred C. Dance represented a client in a wrongful death action that eventually settled. Rather than promptly disburse the settlement proceeds to his client, he used the funds to pay for personal expenses while ignoring his client’s inquiries about the money. A hearing panel of the Board of Professional Responsibility concluded that Dance had violated Rules 1.4(a)(3), 1.4(a)(4), 1.15(a), 1.15(d), 8.4(a), and 8.4(c) of the Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct. Based on its finding that Dance had knowingly converted client property, the hearing panel recommended that Dance be disbarred. In this appeal, we consider whether disbarment is the appropriate sanction for Dance’s misconduct. As a preliminary matter, we clarify that in an appeal under Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, section 33.1(d), this Court reviews the hearing panel’s recommended punishment de novo rather than for abuse of discretion. We affirm the hearing panel’s finding that Dance knowingly converted client property and its application of aggravating and mitigating factors. But after considering the sanctions imposed in similar cases, we conclude that Dance should be suspended rather than disbarred. We therefore reverse the hearing panel’s judgment in part and suspend Dance from practicing law for five years, with three years to be served on active suspension.