“Lie, Lie, Lie” And Kick The Table
The Florida Supreme Court rejected a proposed second three year suspension and imposed disbarment instead
Ratiner was admitted to practice law in 1990. In each of the three disciplinary cases brought against Ratiner, two prior and the instant case, the misconduct arose in the course of his representation of plaintiffs against E.I. DuPont De Nemours & Co., Inc. (DuPont). The first disciplinary case resulted in a sixty-day suspension and a public reprimand, to be followed by a two-year period of probation, Fla. Bar v. Ratiner, 46 So. 3d 35 (Fla. 2010), while the second case resulted in a three-year suspension. Fla. Bar v. Ratiner, 177 So. 3d 1274, 2015 WL 5156338, at *1 (Fla. 2015). Because the referee in this case found that the prior cases constituted aggravating factors, and because we conclude that they demonstrate the progression of Ratiner’s disparaging misconduct towards other members of the legal profession, we discuss the earlier disciplinary cases below in the context of our determination that disbarment is warranted in this case.
In this matter
One of the allegations of misconduct raised by the Bar was that Ratiner, during a post-trial hearing in the Sidran matter, was overheard saying “lie, lie, lie” in quick succession while opposing counsel conducted the direct examination of Ratiner’s law partner. At the hearing before the referee, the judge presiding in the Sidran case, Judge Amy Steele Donner, testified that she had heard Ratiner utter the words “lie, lie, lie,” while at the time Ratiner denied that he had said those words. Ratiner testified before the referee that he had been talking to his associate in a low voice but that he had no recollection of saying “lie, lie, lie.” In his report, the referee found Judge Donner’s testimony at the final hearing that Ratiner had in fact spoken the words “lie, lie, lie” “very credible.”
And
In its complaint, the Bar also alleged that Ratiner, in the post-hearing proceedings in the Sidran case, repeatedly kicked the leg of counsel’s table where he was seated. The lead opposing counsel in the Sidran litigation, Andrew Brenner, testified before the referee that Ratiner was kicking counsel’s table “in a manner that was disruptive of the proceedings.” The referee had Mr. Brenner demonstrate how Ratiner had been kicking the table, and found it to be “very loud.” Judge Donner testified at the final hearing that she was aware that Ratiner had kicked the table, and she called a sidebar after he did it a second time. As a result of the kicking incident, she ended the post-trial hearing. Based upon the testimony of Judge Donner and Mr. Brenner, the referee concluded “that such behavior in fact would be disruptive to any judicial proceedings,” and found that Ratiner intended to disrupt the proceedings…
Also
Judge Donner testified that limits on closing arguments were agreed to by the lawyers, and when Ratiner exceeded his time, she gave him a few additional minutes but he stated that he would take whatever time he needed. Judge Donner also testified that she saw Ratiner ” ‘wrinkling and throwing’ documents and that after 4-5 times of this behavior she reprimanded Respondent.” On cross-examination, Judge Donner stated that she saw Ratiner throwing documents on counsel’s table, that he denied it, and that she told him that he was calling her a liar because she did see him do it. Judge Donner described Ratiner’s behavior at trial as “awful, that he was not respectful to the court or obeyed orders, and that she was ‘appalled.’ ” Moreover, Judge Donner testified that Ratiner’s behavior “had been totally disruptive, that he was a ‘bully’ and that she called the Bar about Respondent’s behavior.”
Sanction
Disbarment is an extreme form of discipline and is reserved for the most egregious misconduct. See Fla. Bar v. Summers, 728 So. 2d 739, 742 (Fla. 1999); see also Fla. Bar v. Kassier, 711 So. 2d 515, 517 (Fla. 1998) (holding that disbarment is an extreme sanction that should be imposed only in those rare cases where rehabilitation is highly improbable). Ratiner’s intentional and egregious misconduct continues to demonstrate an attitude that is wholly inconsistent with professional standards, and there is no indication that he is willing to follow the professional ethics of the legal profession.
Daily Business Review reported on the earlier cases.
Ratiner, who became a lawyer in 1990, first got in hot water with the Florida Bar after he launched into a tirade against opposing counsel for DuPont during a 2007 deposition. Ratiner Trial Law represented orchid growers who alleged DuPont’s fungicide Benlate killed their plants.
The chemical company’s attorney tried to place an exhibit sticker on Ratiner’s laptop, and Ratiner tried to run around the table toward him before lambasting him to the point where the court reporter said, “I can’t work like this!”, according to the referee. The Florida Supreme Court suspended Ratiner for 60 days and put him on probation.
In 2009, Ratiner was in a document review session with DuPont when he loudly called opposing counsel a “dominatrix,” with “no substantial purpose other than to embarrass” her, according to the referee. He later tried to forcibly take papers from another female attorney, even after she told him, “Don’t grab [me] ever again.” The incidents led to a three-year suspension.
The first court decision is linked here. (Mike Frisch)