Youngstown lawyer’s license indefinitely suspended

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The Ohio Supreme Court has indefinitely suspended from law practice a Youngstown attorney with three prior disciplinary sanctions.

This was the fourth time since 1997 that Dennis A. DiMartino was sanctioned by the court, which noted the present complaints about him are similar to previous incidents that led to past suspensions, including neglecting client matters and failing to account for settlement funds.

The Mahoning County Bar Association brought complaints by DiMartino’s clients to the court’s Board of Professional Conduct, which recommended the indefinite suspension.

DiMartino, who began practicing law in 1987, declined to comment.

In a unanimous decision announced Wednesday, the court found DiMartino violated several rules governing the conduct of attorneys while representing a woman in an auto-accident personal-injury case.

DiMartino filed a lawsuit against her auto insurer for additional compensation not covered by the person who caused the accident.

DiMartino received $15,000 from the insurer, which he deposited in a state-required client trust account, and then paid himself $5,000 from the proceeds. He sent his client a $5,400 check, and testified he couldn’t account for the other $4,600.

In a separate complaint, a couple retained DiMartino for a medical-malpractice case and he failed to appear at several hearings, failed to oppose a motion for dismissal filed by the opponents and did not return the couple’s phone calls. Their case was dismissed, and DiMartino failed to tell them.

When the bar association inquired into the complaints, DiMartino failed to respond to its requests for information, the top court said.

At a hearing before a three-member board panel, DiMartino testified he suffered from depression and that it contributed to his misconduct. When given time to submit a psychological report and character references, however, he did not submit the information by the deadline, the court said.

In addition to the suspension, DiMartino was ordered to pay $4,600 in restitution to the woman in the car-crash case and her mother; and his future reinstatement was conditioned on providing proof of a mental-health evaluation and treatment plan, and completing coursework on law-office management.