Prominent Lowcountry attorney and state representative Marvin Pendarvis, D-Charleston, and his law firm, Pendarvis Law Firm, have been accused of malpractice claims.
Adrian Lewis, a former client of Pendarvis, is suing the attorney for mishandling his civil claim against the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office.
In November 2021, Lewis accused the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Department of unlawful arrest after having a dispute with the mother of his child regarding custody.
According to the lawsuit filed by Lewis' lawyers, Eric Bland and Ronald Richter Jr., Pendarvis allegedly settled on behalf of Lewis without his knowledge or consent, violating the South Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct.
Lewis says Pendarvis promised upwards of $325,000 in the settlement, but settled the civil case with the department for a much lower amount without notifying him.
Bland and Richter say Pendarvis failed to provide proper representation and allegedly forged Lewis’ signature on the settlement agreement.
Lewis says he reached out to Pendarvis about the status of the settlement due to financial hardships, but Pendarvis did not respond to calls or answer questions about the case.
In texts, Pendarvis responded that he could “fix" the situation and make corrections.
/ Bland Richter LLP
/ Bland Richter LLP
/ Bland Richter LLP
Pendarvis then gave Lewis a $5,000 “disbursement” check the next month in response to the repeated inquiries and a second check of $1,666.67 in March 2023, promising more money was on the way, according to the suit.
Lewis claimed he only found out about the settlement being reached when lawyers representing the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Department notified him that it was settled for $10,000 and the $6,667 he received from Pendarvis was the settlement minus Pendarvis Law Firm’s 33% fee.
Pendarvis then allegedly visited Lewis’ house with a black bag he said contained $50,000 in cash. Pendarvis said he could provide an additional $25,000 and could write a check to “pay for [Lewis'] mortgage,” as long as Lewis did not sue Pendarvis.
“You can’t pay a client in cash. There has to be a trail, and you don’t pay a client from your operating account or from any other checking account. The client gets their money from a trust account,” Bland said.
“This case underscores the importance of upholding the highest standards of integrity and accountability within the legal profession,” he added.
“Adrian Lewis’s case is emblematic of the trust individuals place in their legal representatives and the devastating consequences when that trust is betrayed,” said Richter. “We are committed to holding accountable those who violate the fundamental principles of legal ethics and professional responsibility.”
Pendarvis gave a third check to Lewis for $15,000. According to Richter, he first two checks were from Pandarvis’ law firm account but the $15,000 were being written from his firm's Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts (IOLTA), a trust account the attorney used to hold money that belonging to other clients.
Pendarvis’ alleged actions have been reported to the South Carolina Bar Association.
In a phone interview with the Post & Courier, 1st Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe confirmed the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has launched an investigation about Pendarvis’ dealings.
"I've had multiple conversations with (SLED Chief Mark Keel) and I have utmost confidence in them," Pascoe said. "I've worked with SLED for many years on many sensitive investigations, and I have the utmost confidence that they're going to do a great job gathering the facts in their investigation."
Pendarvis is the state representative for District 113, covering parts of North Charleston and Summerville.
When reached by SC Public Radio, Pendarvis said he had no comment about the lawsuit.
