WYOMING SUPREME COURT ISSUES PUBLIC CENSURE FOR GREYBULL ATTORNEY

CHEYENNE– The Wyoming Supreme Court today issued a public censure of Greybull lawyer Letitia C. Abromats. The order of public censure stemmed from Abromats’ representation of clients who were successors in interest to a deceased seller under a seller-financed arrangement involving two parcels of real property in Basin, Wyoming.  A warranty deed to the buyers was recorded for one of the parcels and the buyers executed and recorded a mortgage back to the seller against that parcel as security. For the other parcel, the sellers executed a warranty deed that was held in escrow pending full payment of the purchase price.  The buyers (mortgagors) also executed a quitclaim deed back to the seller for both parcels that was also held in escrow.  The mortgagors defaulted and Abromats was hired by the sellers to foreclose the mortgage.  In the course of the representation, Abromats discovered two judgment liens of record on the parcel to which the buyers held record fee title, but neglected to do a record search that would have revealed the existence of two more judgment liens. Rather than proceed with foreclosure of the mortgage (which would have extinguished the four judgment liens as they were junior to the mortgage), Abromats opted to record the quitclaim deed for both parcels. Although Abromats’ clients recovered title to both parcels via the quitclaim deed, they had to pay more than $13,000 to satisfy the judgment liens against the parcel that had previously been deeded to the buyers. Following a hearing, the Board of Professional Responsibility issued a report and recommendation that Abromats receive a public censure for violation of Rule 1.3 (diligence) and Rule 1.4(b) (communicating with client) of the Wyoming Rules of Professional Conduct.

In its order of public censure, the Court found that there was clear and convincing evidence that Abromats violated Rule 1.3 by failing to recognize that the recorded deed vested legal fee title in the mortgagors; by failing to determine if there were other judgment liens against the mortgagors upon discovery of the first two liens; and by recording the quitclaim deed without her clients’ informed consent and without informing her clients of the effect of such action. The Court found that there was clear and convincing evidence that Abromats violated Rule 1.4(b) by failing to explain the foreclosure and quitclaim process to the extent reasonably necessary to permit her clients to make an informed decision regarding the representation. Finding that a public censure was the appropriate sanction for Abromats’ violation of the referenced rules, the Court ordered Abromats to complete three hours of continuing legal education on the subjects of deeds, mortgages and real estate transactions and to pay $2,616.15 in costs and an administrative fee of $750.00 to the Wyoming State Bar.

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