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Legal Malpractice by an Infamous Kentucky Attorney

Sometimes, lawyers make mistakes. Sometimes these mistakes rise to the level of malpractice. When they do, ours is one of the only firms in Kentucky willing to sue another lawyer or law firm for malpractice. Because of this, we stay current on legal malpractice issues all across the country. In the past couple of months, two particular stories caught our attention, one of them right here in Kentucky, the other in New York City. I’d like to take time in this newsletter to tell you about them.

Infamous Local Lawyer
First, you may have recently read about retiring Louisville lawyer Fred Radolovichwho has been indicted on charges of perjury (lying under oath). Mr. Radolovich is no stranger to ethical and malpractice charges. In April 2006, Radolovich was sanctioned by a federal appeals court for filing a frivolous appeal. The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals said he filed an “incoherent brief” that contained “patent legal and factual inaccuracy.” He was ordered to pay $9,500 in sanctions. He has now been found in contempt for failing to pay those sanctions.

In early November 2006, in a different matter, five judges on the 6th Circuit said Radolovich did such a poor job investigating the background of his client, IN A DEATH PENALTY CASE, that he never even discovered his own client’s real name. Radolovich’s perjury was also charged with perjury for allegedly lying to the court in a hearing by saying he had handled six death penalty cases, four as a prosecutor in New York.

Radolovich’s former supervisor, from the New York County District Attorney’s office, swore in an affidavit that Radolovich never handled a death penalty case while a prosecutor. The supervisor also said that Radolovich falsely claimed to have headed a special “organized crime unit” while at the New York DA’s office.

Additionally, the Courier Journal showed how Radolovich falsely claimed that he was a licensed barrister in England and was going to the World Court in the Netherlands to prosecute a Serbian war criminal.

Last, but not least, Radolovich was sued by a Louisville surgeon, Johnathan Guarnaschelli, M.D., for filing a frivolous lawsuit. It seems that Radolovich filed suit against Guarnaschelli for medical negligence without any medical proof that Guarnaschelli had done anything wrong. For over a year, Guarnaschelli’s lawyer requested Radolovich drop the suit because of a lack of evidence. Ultimately, Guarnaschelli’s lawyer requested the court dismiss the case for lack of evidence. The court agreed to do so. Dr. Guarnaschelli sued Radolovich for wrongful use of civil proceedings. The jury agreed with Guarnaschelli and awarded him $12,000 in compensatory damages and $60,000 in punitive damages.

Famous National Lawyer
Remember O.J.’s trial in 1994? Do you also remember his lawyers? He hired several of the best, including Johnny Cochran (now deceased), F. Lee Bailey, and Barry Scheck. Unfortunately, legal malpractice is not limited to bad lawyers. Even excellent lawyers sometimes make mistakes.

Lee Long served six years after a New York jury convicted him of rape. Mr. Long maintained his innocence and was ultimately freed as a result of the work of the Queens Legal Aid Society.
Long retained Barry Scheck, O.J. Simpson’s former lawyer, and Scheck’s firm to represent him in a wrongful imprisonment suit against the state of New York. Scheck filed suit in 2002; however, the trial court dismissed the case claiming the suit was filed too late. Two different appellate courts affirmed the dismissal. Attorney Scheck, co-founder of a legal clinic that pioneered the use of DNA technology to help free innocent prisoners, agreed to pay $900,000 to a man wrongly convicted of rape. Ironic, isn’t it?