One lawyer was disbarred and another suspended another for accepting a multi-million dollar fee from a defendant in exchange for an agreement not to file more cases against the defendant.
The Florida Supreme Court disbarred one lawyer and suspended another for accepting a $6.4 million fee from the defendant, E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co (“DuPont”) in exchange for an agreement not to file more cases against Du Pont. The two lawyers, Roland R. St. Louis Jr. and Francisco R. Rodriguez represented clients suing DuPont for damages allegedly resulting from exposure to Benlate, a fungicide suspected of causing severe crop damage and withdrawn from the market in 1991.
In 1996, a Florida trial court accepted a motion for sanctions for discovery abuse in the lead case, telling DuPont that it intended to sanction the company by striking its pleadings. The court encouraged DuPont to settle the case. Davis Tree Farms Inc. v. E.I. DuPont Nemours & Co., No. 1992-20006-CA-01 (Miami-Dade Co., Fla., Cir. Ct.).
Ultimately, DuPont agreed to pay the plaintiffs $59 million if they would get the trial judge’s order vacated and sealed without publicity, settle 18 cases contingent upon the settlement of two key cases, and not to disclose the settlement figures.
At the same time, St. Louis and Rodriguez entered into a secret side deal by which the firm would receive a separate $6.4 million fee from DuPont to refrain from further Benlate litigation against the company and to serve as counsel and/or consultants for the company in future matters, the high court said.
The Supreme Court disbarred St. Louis for his violation of professional conduct rules in taking this fee and ordered him to disgorge $2,277,663, his share of the fee DuPont paid the firm. Rodriguez received a two-year suspension, and could be ordered to pay as much as $1.4 million to the state bar’s Clients’ Security Fund.
The other two partners in the firm, Paul D. Friedman and Diane Deighton Ferraro, were not involved in the litigation, but they were aware of the negotiations with DuPont for the special fee, and they each took a percentage of the fee. As a result of their participation in this side deal, Friedman and Ferraro consented to sanctions. Ferraro agreed to a public reprimand and paid $425,000 in restitution to clients and $3,169 in costs. Friedman consented to a 90-day suspension and paid $910,000 in restitution and $7,320 in costs.
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