Appellate Court Upholds Lawyer's Suspension

The state Appellate Court has upheld a 15-month law license suspension for a New Britain lawyer accused of overcharging his clients in a contentious Plainville probate case.

A Superior Court judge in New Britain imposed the suspension last year against the lawyer, Jacek Smigelski, as part of a lawsuit brought by the Statewide Grievance Committee, which investigates complaints of misconduct by lawyers.
Smigelski appealed the decision to Appellate Court, which upheld the lower court's decision this week.

Smigelski could not be reached for comment. A spokeswoman for the grievance committee said that the suspension has been stayed as Smigelski appeals to the state Supreme Court.

Smigelski had been hired by two brothers, Stanley and Kazimierz Kosiorek, to file a lawsuit against their late father's widow, Bronislawa Kosiorek.

She was 19 years younger than her husband, Stanislaw Kosiorek of Plainville, and the couple had married just a year before he died.

Six weeks before his death, Stanislaw Kosiorek transferred the title to his home to Bronislawa Kosiorek. The brothers believed that their father's signature on the deed had been forged, and they sued Bronislawa Kosiorek in an attempt to reclaim possession of the house.

Bronislaw Kosiorek eventually settled and gave back the house in return for $35,000 from the proceeds of its sale.

The house was sold, and after she took her share, $120,000 was left. According to court documents, Smigelski then took $65,833 of that amount and told the brothers that represented his fee. The brothers had already paid him a $5,000 retainer.

Plainville Probate Judge Heidi Famiglietti later ruled that Smigelski should only receive a fee of $16,000. He did not comply, and the brothers filed a complaint with the Statewide Grievance Committee.

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Appellate Court Upholds Lawyer's Suspension