Thursday, April 2, 2020

San Antonio lawyer again sued by State Bar

Maverick lawyer, Phil Ross, known for his combative style has been sued by the State Bar of Texas over a grievance filed against him alleging among other things, dishonesty.
Photo: Carlos Javier Sanchez | Contributor / pixelreflexmedia.com
by John MacCormack - San Antonio Express News

For the second time in six months, San Antonio lawyer Phil Ross has been sued in state district court by the State Bar of Texas for alleged serial misconduct in a guardianship case involving an elderly person.

According to the bar’s recent suit, Ross’s misbehavior included “habitual and intentional disregard for court orders, misrepresentations to the court, fraud upon the court, conflicts of interest, dishonesty and deceit.”

The suit stems from Ross’s role in a high-profile Bexar County case involving Charlie Thrash, 82, the longtime owner of CT Thrash Differential and Axle Service on West Avenue.

In 2017, Thrash was found to be mentally incapacitated and since 2018 he has been in the care of court-appointed guardians.

In the last two years, hundreds of thousands of dollars of estate assets have been spent on legal costs as Ross, who sought to overturn the guardianships, has battled a team of lawyers representing the guardians.

The earlier suit against Ross, filed in October, pertains to his alleged misconduct in a Comal County guardianship case involving Sybil Sims, an elderly San Antonio woman who died in 2016. That case is set for trial this summer in Bexar County.

Ross, 71, who is known for his contrarian and sometimes combative style, plans to represent himself in both cases.

“I intend to defend myself and bring to light the truth of what happened to Charlie Thrash. The story is not over,” he said. “I trust that when a jury hears the entire case, not only will I be vindicated but the news will present itself that the claims against me are false.”

The bar’s latest suit, triggered by a grievance filed last year by Tonya Barina, one of Thrash’s guardians, lists a dozen specific violations of the rules of professional conduct for lawyers.

Among the accusations are that Ross repeatedly tried to represent Thrash when he knew Thrash lacked mental capacity to hire a lawyer; that Ross took Thrash out of Bexar County, contrary to court orders, to obtain a license for an impermissible marriage to his girlfriend Laura Martinez; and that Ross was involved with Thrash’s subsequent improper adoption of two of Martinez’s adult children, which was later reversed.

The suit also accuses Ross of filing “meritless, vexatious pleadings and motions” in an “apparent effort to burden and cause expense for the estate,” charges he denies.

“All the things I did were in an effort to advocate the rights, privileges and immunities of Charlie Thrash,” said Ross, who linked the timing of the bar’s latest suit to the recent release of “Dirty Money,” a Netflix film critical of the guardians in the Thrash case.

The outcome of either trial could cost Ross his license to practice law. Or he could face lessor sanctions or be exonerated.

Last year, Ross’s misconduct in the Thrash case triggered one of the largest court sanctions ever seen in Bexar County.

In May, Probate Court Judge Oscar Kazen imposed a $220,000 penalty on Ross and several members of the Martinez family. The 35-page order listed dozens of specific acts of misconduct, including the marriage and adoption, as well as Ross’s interfering with Thrash’s guardians. Ross has appealed the sanctions.

Les Katona, one of the lawyers representing Barina, said that Ross’s actions in the Thrash case “are the most egregious I have seen in 30 years of practice, and they merit the most severe sanction available.”

“The public and our profession need to be protected against the kind of activities that Judge Kazen has already found Mr. Ross to have engaged in,” he added.

Full Article & Source:
San Antonio lawyer again sued by State Bar

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