Lewis v. ACB Business Services, Inc.

[David A. Szwak]

Lewis v. ACB Business Services, Inc.
135 F.3d 389
C.A.6 (Ohio),1998.
January 30, 1998

Next, Lewis argues that the district court erred when it found that ACB's actions did not constitute the unauthorized practice of law. He claims that ACB engaged in the unauthorized practice of law when it hired Mr. Connors on behalf of Amex, thus interposing itself between Amex and Connors:
The [Magistrate Judge's] Substituted Report [and Recommendations] finds that Defendant Connors is not alleged to be an employee of Defendants ACB or Amex. Yet the Substituted Report does not divulge the legal significance of this finding. When an agent is acting pursuant to authority, a principal is responsible for the actions of the agent whether the agent is an employee or a contractor. Likewise, the agent is directly liable for its actions pursued on behalf of the principal. Defendant Connors is the agent of Defendant Amex and Defendant ACB in regard to the state court lawsuit against Mr. Lewis. Since Defendant ACB hired Defendant Connors for Defendant Amex, Defendant ACB is the agent of Defendant Amex. The actions of Defendant Connors can be attributed to Defendants ACB and Amex, and the actions of Defendant ACB can be attributed to defendant Amex.
Appellant's Brief at 26 (citation omitted). Lewis then proceeds to cite several Ohio court cases which he claims support his claim that ACB engaged in the unauthorized practice of law. See Med Controls, Inc. v. Hopkins, 61 Ohio App.3d 497, 573 N.E.2d 154 (1989) (collection agency found to have committed the unauthorized practice of law where it had discretion to institute legal action on its own initiative and had the sole authority to “employ counsel of [its] own and separate choosingâ€