MEDIA – A Delaware County woman pursuing legal action against her former attorney for the second time, alleging that trust funds she was intended to receive after the death of her companion were instead misappropriated by that same lawyer, is now seeking a default judgment against her ex-counsel.
Yvonne Jewell of Newtown Square first filed suit in the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas on June 2 versus Adrian Joseph Moody, Esq. of Philadelphia and Wyncote.
“Mrs. Jewell is a divorced female. Jewell, for a period of years prior to his death, was associated with James West, M.D. Dr. West died on Feb. 1, 2006, leaving an estate of $1,859,214.15 During the last years of West’s life, he represented verbally to the world that he was leaving his estate to Jewell. West, however, never reduced his wishes to a written and properly witnessed Last Will and Testament,” the suit said.
“Sometime after the death of West, Jewell retained the legal services of defendant Moody, then a licensed attorney. The case was subsequently litigated and money owed Jewell was distributed to Moody for her in trust, presumably in his attorney trust account, as Jewell’s attorney. Thereafter, Moody misappropriated significant funds from the money he received in trust for Jewell.”
In October 2014, Jewell hired her current counsel, Stephen V. Yarnell, to learn why Moody had not responded to her communications, to obtain an accounting of Moody’s actions on her behalf, as well as a distribution of the proceeds of the Estate of West due her.
“After discussions in the form of correspondence with Moody failed to resolve the dispute a case was filed in the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas against Moody and his law firm Moody and Shields Group, LLC, and his partner Stacy Shields, Esquire. That case originated by a writ of summons and eventually a complaint was filed,” the suit stated.
“This retention of Yarnell would have been unnecessary had Moody made the distributions to Jewell of monies he held in trust as was ethically required of him. Plaintiff subsequently learned that Moody was disbarred on consent by the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Jewell believes that Moody’s disbarment resulted from Moody misappropriating funds from a client other than her. The Delaware County action ultimately resulted in a settlement agreement.”
Under the settlement agreement, Moody was to pay Jewell $160,000 in total, with an initial payment of $55,000, including a $5,000 attorney’s fee payment to Yarnell due 90 days following June 22, 2020, the date the agreement was entered, or on or before Sept. 20, 2020.
“When Moody failed to make payment, plaintiff‘s counsel contacted defense counsel who said either that he was unable to reach Moody, despite repeated efforts to contact him or that Moody was struggling with a legal action brought against him by the IRS,” per the suit.
“Defense counsel asked that Moody be given further time to make payment. Numerous meetings to resolve this dispute and effectuate the settlement agreement have been scheduled by counsel. None of these meetings has occurred and defendant’s counsel has canceled all No payment has been received.”
According to the suit, Moody is in breach of the settlement agreement and the plaintiff now believes and therefore contends that he is concealing assets to defraud his creditors, including the plaintiff.
UPDATE
Jewell’s counsel filed a notice of default against Moody on Aug. 26.
“You are in default because you have failed to file an answer in this case. Unless you act within 10 days from the date of this notice, a judgment may be entered against you without a hearing, and you may lose your right to sue the plaintiff and thereby lose property or other important rights,” the notice read.
For counts of breach of contract and detrimental reliance, the plaintiff is seeking various reliefs:
• Damages in excess of $160,000, plus applicable interest, and such other relief as the Court deems reasonable in connection with this matter;
• Plaintiff requests that the Court reinstates the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas action Jewell v. Moody Et.Al (at CV-2016-000438) as if it were never ordered settled, discontinued and ended, until such time as Moody fulfills the terms of the settlement agreement in full;
• Finally, plaintiff requests that the reasonable attorney’s fee of her counsel be awarded by the Court.
The plaintiff is represented by Stephen V. Yarnell in Reading.
The defendant has not yet obtained legal counsel.
Delaware County Court of Common Pleas case CV-2021-004855
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com