Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- For the third time this year, the chief disciplinary counsel for the Rhode Island Supreme Court has filed ethics charges against lawyer Steven J. Coaty, a former state representative from Newport, including allegations of failing to provide competent representation and collecting unreasonable fees.
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In January, Disciplinary Counsel David D. Curtin asked the court's disciplinary board to hold public hearings on complaints brought by two other former Coaty clients who alleged, among other things, that he engaged in forgery, failed to furnish proper bills and accountings and failed to do any work on a personal-injury case he agreed to take on for a woman injured in a slip-and fall, resulting in its dismissal.

The newest ethics charges stem from a complaint brought by Robert Addison, who hired Coaty in 2005 to represent him in connection with problems he was having with his employer, Raytheon, and a dispute he was having with MetLife Disability, which administered a plan provided by Raytheon.

Curtin says that while Coaty reviewed files and documents relating to Addison's personnel issues and had communications with Raytheon, he didn't take any affirmative action on Addison's behalf regarding a 10-day suspension he was given. Addison had hired Coaty because he believed he had been wrongly disciplined and sought to have the matter reviewed and expunged from his record, Curtin said.

Curtin also said that Coaty failed to furnish MetLife with requested documents in support of an appeal by Addison regarding a short-term disability claim he filed with the insurer. MetLife paid him for just part of the time he was out of work.

Addison, according to Curtin, paid Coaty $5,000 for legal services but that Coaty failed for almost two years to give him an itemized accounting for his services or return his file to him. Addison said he was expecting about $3,000 back from Coaty since he had not done most of the things he had hired him for. But in November, 2007, Curtin said, Coaty sent Addison a final bill saying he owed him an additional $2,972.20. Coaty claimed that he spent 42 hours providing legal services for Addison.

Extra: Read the full full complaint filed by the R.I. Supreme Court disciplinary counsel

(This entry was first posted at 2:55 p.m.)

 Tags  ethics General Assembly lawyer Newport

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