The Supreme Court of South Carolina suspended the law license of State Representative Marvin Pendarvis (D) in a shocking decision on Friday.
The order was approved and signed by Chief Justice Donald Beatty on Friday and will also block Pendarvis from making any withdrawals from his client's trust accounts until further notice.
The case stems from a lawsuit that alleged that Pendarvis had approved and witnessed the forgery of a client's signature without that client's knowledge.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division revealed they were investigating that allegation in early April in an announcement that was made just a day after the lawsuit against Pendarvis was announced.
The lawsuit was filed by one of Pendarvis's clients who identified himself as Adrian Lewis.
The lawsuit accused Pendarvis of failure to provide competent representation, settling a case without authorization, and forging his signature on the settlement agreement.
Pendarvis had been representing Lewis in a civil action suit against the Dorchester County Sheriff's Office. Lewis had been arrested after he was accused of kidnapping his daughter by his daughter's mother.
Lewis argued that as there was no court order denoting custody, the kidnapping accusations had no grounds which meant that the Dorchester County Sheriff's Office had wrongfully imprisoned him.
Lewis's arrest was a severe setback in his life as it led to loss of employment and income and he was suing for hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages.
However, it turns out that Pendarvis broke nearly every ethical rule possible in his handling of Lewis's case.
If the allegations against Pendarvis are true, it is likely he will never work in law again. Lewis claims that Pendarvis had been non-communicative and Lewis received small checks that Pendarvis refused to explain.
Lewis proceeded to contact the Dorchester County Sheriff and discovered that his case had been settled for a paltry $10,000. So not only did Pendarvis settle the case without his client's approval but he forged his signature on the release.
A notary is also accused of having witnessed and notarized this forgery of Lewis's signature.
While the investigation is ongoing, there is substantial evidence supporting Lewis's claims. It's likely Pendarvis will never work in law again if convicted and voters should seriously consider if Pendarvis should be serving as a Representative.
