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An Elkhart attorney has resigned from the Indiana bar following multiple misconduct allegations that included failure to file bankruptcy paperwork on behalf of clients, failure to refund attorney and filing fees, and unresponsiveness.
According to the order issued Tuesday by the Indiana Supreme Court, Rachel A. Kidd submitted an affidavit of resignation from the state bar pursuant to Indiana Admission and Discipline Rule 23(17), which requires an acknowledgement of a pending investigation or proceeding involving allegations of misconduct against which she could not successfully defend herself.
In a complaint filed in May 2022, the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission alleged nine counts of misconduct and dozens of alleged violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct and Admission and Discipline Rules.
According to one count in the complaint, a couple retained Kidd on Aug. 9, 2019, to represent them in a joint bankruptcy case, paying her $700 in attorney fees and $335 for the bankruptcy filing fee.
The couple believed their bankruptcy petition should have been filed by the end of 2019 or very early in 2020, and were given a variety of excuses for the filing delay.
After time passed without the filing of the bankruptcy petition or hearing from Kidd, the couple attempted without success to contact Kidd. The couple sent a termination letter and a refund request in February 2021.
Kidd had not refunded the couple’s attorney fees or bankruptcy filing fee or filed their bankruptcy petition by the time the Disciplinary Commission filed its complaint.
In the complaint’s second count, a woman retained Kidd in September 2019 to represent her in a bankruptcy case, paying the attorney $1,000 for a retainer and $335 in bankruptcy filing fees.
The woman was told all communications between her and Kidd would go through Kidd’s paralegal/husband due to Kidd’s health issues.
From September 2019 through April 2021, the woman did not recall ever speaking to Kidd, and many of her telephone calls were not answered or returned.
In November 2020, the woman’s creditors sued her for debts intended to be part of the unfiled bankruptcy.
The last meeting for the woman was scheduled for April 19, 2021, but her bankruptcy filing had not been completed.
On April 28, 2021, the woman sent a letter to Kidd terminating the representation. In the letter, she asked for a refund and an explanation for Kidd’s lack of action on her bankruptcy.
Kidd never filed the woman’s bankruptcy petition or refunded any of the fees she had paid.
The remaining counts outline similar alleged misconduct, as well as allegations that Kidd did not provide requested documents, including trust account documents. When the Disciplinary Commission subpoenaed business records, it found shortages in Kidd’s trust account, according to the complaint.
The complaint also alleges Kidd lied about attending her father-in-law’s funeral as an excuse for her delay in filing client matters. She later claimed she had a concussion and didn’t remember whether she attended the funeral.
Kidd was also the subject of another complaint filed in February 2023. That complaint alleged five violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct in her representation of a woman in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceeding — a case in which Kidd again allegedly failed to make necessary filings and failed to adequately communicate.
According to the Tuesday disciplinary order, Kidd is required to fulfill all the applicable duties under Admission and Discipline Rule 23(26).
Any attorney disciplinary proceedings pending against Kidd are dismissed as moot because of her resignation.
Kidd will be ineligible to petition for reinstatement to the practice of law for five years from the date of the order. If Kidd seeks reinstatement, the misconduct admitted in her affidavit of resignation, as well as any other allegations of misconduct, may be addressed in the reinstatement process, according to the order.
According to the Indiana Roll of Attorneys, Kidd was admitted to the bar in December 2002.
The case is In the Matters of Rachel A. Kidd, 22S-DI-157, 23S-DI-46.
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