Two Hurricanes And A Ruby Ring

A Louisiana Hearing Committee found that an attorney did not engage in any misconduct in connection with a dispute involving a ruby ring.

The Office of Disciplinary Counsel had received a complaint against another lawyer. The complainants filed a civil suit as well, which ended when the lawyer declared bankruptcy.

ODC opened this case against the attorney charged here, who was alleged to have given a false statement about having possession of the ringafter receiving it from the bankrupt lawyer.

The attorney had represented in lawyer in civil litigation against the complainants.

The hearing committee

The issue of whether Respondent was attempting to hide the ring from its proper owner is simply not supported by the facts in this matter. ODC rested its case solely on the fact that Respondent said in her sworn statement to ODC that she lost the ring in Hurricane Rita when previous facts indicated that she did not receive the ring until December of 2005, three to four months after Hurricane Rita. And after this discrepancy was pointed out to her, she found the ring, after diligent search.

Respondent testified that she suffered extreme hardship in the months before she received the ring. Her husband of forty (40) years died unexpectedly on August 31, 2005, the day after Hurricane Katrina and their home in Little Cheniere (Cameron area) was completely destroyed by Hurricane Rita on September 24, 2005. Respondent was in a state of total disarray and simply had problems remembering the chronology of events.

The attorney made a series of trips to Texas to look for the ring. She “found the ring behind a dresser in a sock, along with some of her other jewekry. Respondent testified that she did not remember putting it there” (Mike Frisch)