► Attorney Samuel Johnson of Wahpeton, ND; lying cheapskate |
Attorney Samuel Johnson of Wahpeton, ND; lying cheapskate The state of North Dakota presented Samuel S. Johnson with a law license in 1989 after he graduated from the University of North Dakota Law College.
The Disciplinary Board found Samuel Guilty of the following misconduct.
In one mater, Samuel subpoenaed Roger Gibbon and his father for depositions in a divorce case. Samuel sent checks to both to cover fees for one day’s attendance, mileage and travel expenses as required under the rules. Gibbon and his father travel to Wahpeton for the depositions, but because of settlement negotiations in the case, the depositions didn’t take place. Samuel then stopped payment on the checks.
The board specifically found that Samuel knowingly disobeyed an obligation under the rules of a tribunal by failing by placing stop payments on checks of $69.20 to Roger and his father respectively.
When Gibbon filed an ethics complaint, Samuel knowingly lied in a letter to Gibbon that the Fair Debt
Collection Practices Act applied and that the amount Gibbon claimed he was owed was not true. The disciplinary hearing panel found Samuel’s testimony that he extensively researched the Fair Debt Act before sending his letter to Gibbon was not credible (lied in effect).
In Samuel’s letter to Gibbon he falsely claimed he did not owe the witness and mileage fees. His letter referenced the “FRAUDULENT BILL” and said “you do not have the right to charge me.” Before Samuel wrote the letter he received an admonition for the Inquiry Committee for disobeying an obligation by stopping payment on the checks to Gibbon and his father.
As a consequence of his misconduct, the enablers for Attorney Misfits sitting on the North Dakota Supreme Court punished Samuel by gifting him with a complimentary reprimand.
As we speak (ca. March 2013), Michael practices at 205 7th Street North in Wahpeton, North Dakota.
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