VIRGINIA:

IN THE MATTER OF

DALE ALAN GIPE

VSB Docket Nos. 99-031-3026

02-031-1879

02-031-3666

On December 30, 2002, a meeting in this matter was held before a duly convened Subcommittee consisting of Robert Clinton Clary, Jr., Esquire, Patricia B. Clary, Lay Member and Marcus D. Minton, Esquire, presiding.

Pursuant to Part 6, Section IV, Paragraph 13.G.4. of the Rules of the Virginia Supreme Court, the Third District Subcommittee of the Virginia State Bar hereby serves upon the Respondent the following Public Reprimand:

• Dale Alan Gipe was admitted to the practice of law in the Commonwealth of Virginia on June 3, 1977.



• At all times relevant to these proceedings, Mr. Gipe was an attorney in good standing to practice law in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

A. VSB Docket No. 99-031-3026

Complainant: Olivia A. Neylan

• In November 1997, Olivia A. Neylan retained Mr. Gipe to file a bankruptcy

petition on her behalf.

• Mr. Gipe agreed to file the bankruptcy petition as soon as Ms. Neylan paid him a

fee of $400, plus $175 for filing fees and $16 for filing a homestead deed, for a total of $591.

• By December 1998, Ms. Neylan had tendered Mr. Gipe installment payments totaling $525.



• Ms. Neylan understood that Mr. Gipe would file the bankruptcy petition even though he had not received her final payment of $66, but Mr. Gipe claims that Ms. Neylan's mother told him not to file the petition until he had received payment in full.



• In April 1999, after she did not hear anything from Mr. Gipe, Ms. Neylan unsuccessfully attempted to contact him on numerous occasions.



• She mailed Mr. Gipe her final payment of $66 on April 29, 1999, but the letter was returned to her marked "Attempted Unknown" in late May 1999.



• Ms. Neylan filed a complaint with the Virginia State Bar on or about June 1, 1999, alleging that he had accepted fees for services that he had failed to perform.



• After speaking with a Virginia State Bar investigator on August 25, 1999, Mr. Gipe agreed to contact Ms. Neylan and file the bankruptcy petition by August 30^th.



• When Ms. Neylan reported that Mr. Gipe had not contacted her, the investigator called Mr. Gipe again on August 31, 1999.



• Mr. Gipe filed the bankruptcy petition in September 1999, and the bankruptcy court granted Ms. Neylan a Chapter 7 discharge on December 15, 1999.

DR 6-101. Competence and Promptness.

(B) A lawyer shall attend promptly to matters undertaken for a client until completed or until the lawyer has properly and completely withdrawn from representing the client.

(C) A lawyer shall keep a client reasonably informed about matters in which the lawyer's services are being rendered.

(D) A lawyer shall inform his client of facts pertinent to the matter and of communications from another party that may significantly affect settlement or resolution of the matter.

• VSB Docket No. 02-031-1879

Complainant: Grace Sayer

1. Mr. Gipe was the settlement agent for the closing on a home in Virginia that the complainant, Grace Sayer, and her husband sold in order to purchase a home in Florida.

• The closing on the Virginia property was scheduled for December 17, 2001, in Virginia; the closing on the Florida property was scheduled for December 18, 2001 in Florida

• Mr. Gipe's paralegal, Karen Taylor, assured the Sayers' closing attorney in Florida that the settlement proceeds would be wired to the Sayers in Florida immediately after the sale was closed and the deed was recorded in Virginia.

• The recording of the deed and wiring of the sales proceeds were delayed because the closing did not take place until after 6:00 p.m. on December 17, 2001.

• Ms. Taylor left Mr. Gipe's office before the finished signing all of the closing documents on December 17^th and did not report for work on December 18^th.

• On December 18^th, Mr. Gipe's temporary receptionist failed to hand him a message indicating that it was urgent that he wire the settlement proceeds to the Sayers.

• Ms. Taylor also failed to report for work on December 19^th.

• Only after Ms. Sayers spoke to Mr. Gipe's other paralegal, Paige Frank, were funds sent by overnight express to the Sayers' closing attorney in Florida, finally arriving about 10:30 a.m. on December 20^th.

• The delayed closings caused the Sayers considerable hardship and distress.

RULE 1.3 Diligence

• A lawyer shall act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client.

* * *

RULE 5.3 Responsibilities Regarding Nonlawyer Assistants

With respect to a nonlawyer employed or retained by or associated with a lawyer:

* * *

• A lawyer having direct supervisory authority over the nonlawyer shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that the person's conduct is compatible with the professional obligations of the lawyer;

* * *

• VSB Docket No. 02-031-3666

Complainant: Walter A. Wilson, III

• Karen Taylor, a paralegal in Mr. Gipe's office, handled title searches, and recording deeds and deeds of trust, for Bellwood Credit Union.



• On or about May 31, 2002, it was reported to the Virginia State Bar that on May 30, 2000, a title agent overheard Mr. Gipe say in a court record room, among other things, that one of his employees had delayed recording a number of deeds.



• When interviewed by a bar investigator on June 3, 2002, Mr. Gipe admitted that he had known there were problems with Ms. Taylor not recording a number of deeds or deeds of trust based upon his review of the files and communications from Branch White, a Bellwood Credit Union employee.



• Ms. Taylor took a vacation after the problems came to Mr. Gipe's attention, and Mr. Gipe's son, who worked as an assistant in his father's office, searched a file cabinet drawer labeled Bellwood in Ms. Taylor's office but was unable to locate the files in which deeds of deeds of trust had not been recorded.



• According to Mr. Gipe, when Ms. Taylor returned from vacation, the files mysteriously reappeared, and Ms. Taylor claimed that they were in the Bellwood drawer all along.



• Ms. Taylor admits that she did not record certain deeds or deeds of trust as she should have but claims that she was overworked.



• Mr. Gipe identified thirty-two files in which deeds or deeds of trust that had not been recorded and arranged for the deeds and deeds of trust to be recorded.



• Ms. Taylor is no longer employed by Mr. Gipe.

RULE 1.3 Diligence

• A lawyer shall act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client.

* * *

RULE 5.3 Responsibilities Regarding Nonlawyer Assistants

With respect to a nonlawyer employed or retained by or associated with a lawyer:

* * *

• a lawyer having direct supervisory authority over the nonlawyer shall make reasonable

efforts to ensure that the person's conduct is compatible with the professional obligations

of the lawyer; . . .

Accordingly, it is the decision of the subcommittee to impose a Public Reprimand and the Respondent is hereby so reprimanded.

THIRD DISTRICT SUBCOMMITTEE

OF THE VIRGINIA STATE BAR

By_______________________________

Marcus D. Minton

Subcommittee Chair

I certify that I have this _____ day of ______________________, 2003, mailed by Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested, a true and correct copy of the Subcommittee Determination (Public Reprimand) to Dale Alan Gipe, the Respondent, at 3610 Marquette Road, Richmond, Virginia 23234.

__________________________________

Barbara Ann Williams

Bar Counsel

CERTIFIED MAIL

RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED

NO. Z 119 563 770

Dale Alan Gipe, Esquire

3610 Marquette Road

Richmond, Virginia 23234

Re: In the Matters of Dale Alan Gipe

VSB Docket Nos. 99-031-3026, 02-031-1879 and 02-031-3666

Dear Mr. Gipe:

Enclosed herein is a Subcommittee Determination (Public Reprimand) which is being served upon you the Third District Subcommittee of the Virginia State Bar.

Please be aware that this disposition will remain a part of your disciplinary record.

Very truly yours,

Marcus D. Minton

Subcommittee Chair

MDM/ge

Enclosure

cc: Barbara Ann Williams, Bar Counsel (w/encl.)

Ray P. Lupold, III, Committee Chair (w/encl.)

David Abrams, Bar Investigator (w/encl.)

Clerk of the Disciplinary System (w/encl.)

Walter A. Wilson, III, Esquire

581-B South Lake Boulevard

Richmond, Virginia 23236

Re: In the Matter of Dale Alan Gipe

VSB Docket No. 02-031-3666

Dear Mr. Wilson:

Enclosed is a copy of the Subcommittee Determination (Public Reprimand) issued to Dale Alan Gipe by the Third District Subcommittee of the Virginia State Bar.

Thank you for your cooperation with the committee in this matter.

Very truly yours,

Marcus D. Minton

Subcommittee Chair

ge

Enclosure

cc: Barbara Ann Williams, Bar Counsel

Ray P. Lupold, III, Committee Chair

Clerk of the Disciplinary System

Ms. Olivia A. Neylan

1422 B. Whitesand Drive

Richmond, Virginia 23225

Re: In the Matter of Dale Alan Gipe

VSB Docket No. 99-031-3026

Dear Ms. Neylan:

Enclosed is a copy of the Subcommittee Determination (Public Reprimand) issued to Dale Alan Gipe by the Third District Subcommittee of the Virginia State Bar.

Thank you for your cooperation with the committee in this matter.

Very truly yours,

Marcus D. Minton

Subcommittee Chair

ge

Enclosure

cc: Barbara Ann Williams, Bar Counsel

Ray P. Lupold, III, Committee Chair

Clerk of the Disciplinary System

Mrs. Grace Sayer

10258 Joanies Run

Leesburg, Florida 34788

Re: In the Matter of Dale Alan Gipe

VSB Docket No. 02-031-1879

Dear Mrs. Sayer:

Enclosed is a copy of the Subcommittee Determination (Public Reprimand) issued to Dale Alan Gipe by the Third District Subcommittee of the Virginia State Bar.

Thank you for your cooperation with the committee in this matter.

Very truly yours,

Marcus D. Minton

Subcommittee Chair

ge

Enclosure

cc: Barbara Ann Williams, Bar Counsel

Ray P. Lupold, III, Committee Chair

Clerk of the Disciplinary System