Bay State Attorney Screws Up, Leads To Tax Foreclosure, Condemnation & Demolition Of Dead Woman's Home Despite Being Retained By Heirs To Handle Case

In Boston, Massachusetts, The Patriot Ledger reports:

• Former Norfolk County prosecutor and well-known Quincy lawyer Gerald Kirby has been suspended from practicing law as a result of his alleged mishandling of two unrelated estate cases. The Board of Bar Overseers said Kirby’s license was suspended for a year.

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• [One] case Kirby handled involved the property of a Randolph woman who was 90 when she died without a will in March 2006. At the time of the woman’s death, her only significant asset was a vacant building and [...] in Randolph. The land had an assessed value of $136,900.
• Shortly before the woman died, the town of Randolph filed a petition to foreclose on the condemned property in an attempt to claim $13,578 in unpaid taxes. The town also had a lien of $6,975 for health board costs. In June 2006, the woman’s family paid Kirby $1,000 to prepare the property for sale so proceeds could be divided among her eight children.
• Board investigators found Kirby never made an appearance nor did he file documents in Land Court regarding the case.
• After obtaining foreclosure rights, the town spent about $10,500 to demolish the home in January 2007. The board alleged Kirby did not adequately respond to his clients’ questions while the matter was unfolding. Kirby ignored repeated requests to return his $1,000 fee and neglected to provide an itemization of his time and services, the board stated.

For the story, see Well-known Quincy lawyer suspended for allegedly mishandling cases (He gets one-year suspension for allegedly mishandling two estate cases).