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Ethics
Lawyer’s ‘intimidating and degrading conduct’ was ‘a enterprise mannequin of kinds, primarily based on worry,’ state supreme courtroom says
The Tennessee Supreme Court docket has disbarred a Nashville, Tennessee, lawyer, citing a sample of “egregious” communications apparently supposed to intimidate and humiliate the opposing counsel to realize an unfair benefit in litigation. (Picture from Shutterstock)
The Tennessee Supreme Court docket has disbarred a Tennessee lawyer, citing a sample of “egregious” communications apparently supposed to intimidate and humiliate the opposing counsel to realize an unfair benefit in litigation.
In a Feb. 16 decision, the state supreme courtroom disbarred lawyer Brian Philip Manookian of Nashville, Tennessee. The choice rejected a listening to panel advice for a two-year suspension, in line with a Feb. 16 press release.
Manookian “engaged on this lengthy sample of intimidating and degrading conduct” to achieve a medical legal responsibility case, the Tennessee Supreme Court docket mentioned. The goal was to coerce the opposing counsel “into standing right down to keep away from private humiliation and emotional misery for them or their households. A enterprise mannequin of kinds, primarily based on worry,” the state supreme courtroom mentioned.
“To say that Mr. Manookian engaged in a number of offenses is to understate,” the state supreme courtroom mentioned. “Regardless of lectures, fines, sanctions and suspensions from decide after decide, Mr. Manookian didn’t select merely to proceed partaking in misconduct—every time he obtained the anticipated unfavorable response to his habits, he responded by escalating it.”
The Legal Profession Blog and the Volokh Conspiracy printed elements of the bulk opinion.
A dissenting justice mentioned she would have affirmed the two-year suspension as a result of Manookian was not given truthful discover of the courtroom’s intent to extend the self-discipline to disbarment.
Manookian, who has been licensed in Tennessee since 2007, confronted ethics fees associated to his conduct in a medical legal responsibility case through which Manookian represented a plaintiff suing HCA Well being Providers of Tennessee. His opposing counsel was at one time Manookian’s employer. The opposing counsel had fired Manookian due to alleged work points, the Tennessee Supreme Court docket mentioned.
Among the many alleged harassing communications cited by the state supreme courtroom:
• After the opposing lawyer requested for supplemental discovery responses, Manookian emailed the lawyer, saying he hears that the lawyer’s daughter has a job with a specific employer. “What a improbable alternative; notably given her historical past of educational failure and alcohol and substance abuse,” Manookian wrote. “I occur to have some very shut mates at [name of daughter’s employer]. I’ll make it a degree to see what I can do relating to her prospects there.”
The opposing counsel testified that his daughter had a 4.0 grade-point common when she left her highschool to attend one other college, however she had been suspended for consuming some wine earlier than college on her 18th birthday. The opposing lawyer sought sanctions.
• Manookian’s sanctions response included a “footnote 1” with details about the opposing lawyer’s son. Manookian mentioned the son had exchanged “sexually graphic emails with a a lot older man for the sexual gratification of the older man,” and Manookian represented the son within the matter.
The opposing lawyer defined that whereas his son was in faculty, the son was contacted over the web by an individual claiming to be a lady. She included purported images of herself that portrayed “a wonderful girl.” The opposing lawyer requested Manookian, nonetheless employed at his legislation agency on the time, to analyze. Manookian found that the sender was a person, discovered the place he was, and sued him. The defendant paid a monetary settlement. The case was not sealed, however few folks knew about it.
• A decide granted a movement for sanctions and ordered Manookian to pay the opposing lawyer greater than $5,500 in lawyer charges. Manookian then sought to indicate bias by the decide; a successor opposing counsel opposed the disqualification.
Manookian despatched a number of emails to the successor opposing counsel that led the opposing lawyer to hunt a collection of sanctions. In a single e-mail to the successor opposing counsel, Manookian claimed that the lawyer’s brother, a retired decide, would say the sanctioning decide is corrupt. In a second e-mail, Manookian requested the successor opposing counsel to hearken to a voicemail and make sure that the voice was his brother’s. The successor opposing counsel didn’t reply to both e-mail.
Manookian then emailed the successor lawyer, saying he sees that his emails are being opened on the IP account related to the opposing counsel’s residence tackle, which he listed. Manookian additionally listed the title of the opposing counsel’s spouse, the names of his daughters, an outline of the spouse’s automobile, and the automobile’s VIN and license plate numbers.
The successor opposing counsel was “unsurprisingly” upset, the Tennessee Supreme Court docket mentioned. He up to date his residence safety system, alerted relations, took Manookian’s picture to the safety guard for his constructing, and elevated the frequency of his handgun coaching. He famous the make, mannequin and shade of Manookian’s automobile and regarded for it close to his property.
The Tennessee Supreme Court docket mentioned disbarment is “clearly justified.”
“Victimizing the households of opposing counsel and inflicting well-founded concern for his or her well-being and security is an particularly grave offense and a profound dishonor as a lawyer,” the state supreme courtroom mentioned. “Attorneys in litigation could also be anticipated to imagine the chance of a specific amount of rough-and-tumble. Their households don’t. In preying on the households of opposing counsel, Mr. Manookian crossed the Rubicon.”
The ABA Journal was unable to achieve Manookian at cellphone numbers discovered on the web.
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