Monica Manners is a paralegal carrying on business as MM Paralegal PC. Monica is consulted by a
Question:
Monica Manners is a paralegal carrying on business as MM Paralegal PC. Monica is consulted by a neighbour, Sandra Avila. Sandra has a legal basement apartment in her house. The tenant, Jack Jones, has lived there for two years. The current rent is $1,250, inclusive of utilities. Sandra recently learned that when a tenant leaves, she can raise the rent as much as she wants. "I'm too nice to this person!" she tells you. "Hydro, everything, it's going up. I can't survive with what I'm making on that apartment!" Sandra wants to evict her tenant.
When Monica asks Sandra what grounds she has for eviction, Sandra says, "What grounds do I need? It's my property! He's a zombie! A moron! I want him out! You think of some grounds!"
Monica shrugs. "OK, I'll think of something," she says. "I guarantee you we'll get rid of him. It's foolproof. But first, I need some money up front. How about $1,000?" Sandra pays by credit card.
Monica knows that Sandra has an adult daughter, Heather, who has an apartment downtown. Having considered the matter, Monica decides to terminate Jack's tenancy on grounds that the landlord requires possession of the rental unit because a family member wants to move in. She figures that they can always say Heather changed her mind at the last minute.
Monica completes the notice of termination of tenancy and serves it on Jack. She issues the notice of application and serves a copy, along with the notice of hearing, on Jack. A few weeks later, Jack's paralegal, Hiram Barker, notifies Monica that his client intends to dispute the application. He also advises Monica that he intends to summon Heather as a witness. Monica tells Sandra that Heather should do everything she can to avoid service of the summons, and should be unavailable on the hearing date.
Prior to the hearing date, Monica phones Jack several times, urging him to pack up and move out. "I'm telling you this for your own good," she says. "If you don't leave, we'll get an eviction order and the sheriff will come and toss you and your dog into the street!"
On the morning of the hearing, Monica arrives early. She checks the list of hearings, and sees that the adjudicator is Allan Edgar. When Sandra arrives, Monica says, "Well, we lucked out on this one. This guy's so dumb he can barely read. His ten-year-old daughter writes his decisions for him."
During her opening submission, Monica addresses the adjudicator as Allan. She points out that Hiram Barker has a reputation for representing tenants without valid disputes and prolonging landlord applications needlessly just to harass landlords and drive their expenses up. "Who knows, maybe he got evicted sometime in the past, and he never got over it," she concludes.
While Hiram Barker is making his opening submissions, Monica makes faces and occasional comments to Sandra.
Several times during the hearing, when Hiram Barker is cross-examining Sandra and during his direct examination of Jack Jones, Monica rolls her eyes and makes snorting noises. During cross-examination of Jack Jones, she is extremely aggressive. She often cuts off his answers before he has finished speaking.
Has Monica Manners acted ethically?Explain
Smith and Roberson Business Law
ISBN: 978-0538473637
15th Edition
Authors: Richard A. Mann, Barry S. Roberts