J. Vernon (Jonathan) Ricketts

Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision

Attorney engaged in September 1999 to act on the sale of three properties. He delayed for over 5 years, failed to rectify a boundary encroachment, transferred a parcel contrary to instructions, paid the real estate agent's commission before completion, paid the deposit in late instalments, failed to confirm payment of stamp duty/transfer tax, failed to recover rent, acted for both parties in conflict of interest, and failed to respond to the Complainant or hand over the file. The Panel found the complaint established beyond reasonable doubt, finding breaches of Canon IV(r) and IV(s). No express finding of dishonesty was made. Restitution of J$663,500 was ordered (rent $500,000, airfare $63,500, telephone $25,000, Canadian legal fees $75,000), plus a conditional six-month suspension, a contingent fine of $450,000, and costs of $100,000.

Duties found breached:

• Overriding duty to the court
• Keep client informed and respond promptly
• No conflict between current clients

Aggravating factors:

• Failure to hand over the file to the Complainant's new attorney despite instructions
• Delay in excess of 5 years
• Failure to respond to enquiries even after the Complaint was laid
• Acted for both vendor and purchasers creating a conflict of interest without the Complainant's consent

⚠ figures not found verbatim in the source were dropped: ["unverified_suspension_months=6"]