The California State Bar is seeking dismissal of a lawsuit brought by two former clients of disbarred lawyer Tom Girardi, who have brought a proposed class action focusing on the organization while accusing it of having a “cozy” relationship with the attorney.
The 6-year-old son of Ana and Arturo Agaton died of a brain tumor at age 6 and the couple maintains Girardi kept their part of a $31 million settlement his firm reached with TXI Industries in 2015. The Agatons and other plaintiffs contended that hexavalent chromium emissions from the company’s Riverside cement plant left Arturo Agaton Jr. and other people living near the facility ill.
But in court papers filed Friday with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Judge Stuart M. Rice in advance of a scheduled April 9 hearing, State Bar lawyers maintain the Agatons are incorrectly suing the attorney regulatory agency for Girardi’s alleged wrongdoing.
“First and foremost, plaintiffs’ claims against defendants are rooted in disputes about the effectiveness of the attorney discipline system,” the State Bar lawyers maintain in their court papers. “However, the exclusive jurisdiction for such disputes lies solely with the California Supreme Court, and, as such, this court lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate the pending claims.”
Although the State Bar has a public protection mission, its mission does not mean that it has an obligation to protect the Agatons from conduct by third parties, the State Bar attorneys further state in their court papers.
“This truism has been confirmed time and again in numerous decisions,” the State Bar lawyers contend in their court papers.
The Agatons also did not apply for reimbursement of up to $100,000 through the State Bar’s Client Security Fund for clients harmed by a California attorney’s dishonest conduct and they further did not submit their government claim on time by waiting until last May, according to the court papers of the State Bar lawyers.
In their suit filed last Sept. 7, the Agatons maintain that Girardi developed close relationships with State Bar members at all levels and gave them gifts and other enticements.
“Girardi’s ability to establish these cozy relationships allowed him to avoid investigation and punishment,” the suit alleges. “For their part, the State Bar employees and officials knew that these relationships were improper, but they pursued them anyway.”
Also named as defendants and seeking dismissal of all claims against them are former bar executives and leaders Joe Dunn, Tom Layton, Howard Miller, John Noonen, Murray Greenberg, Mike Nisperos and Richard Platel.
In January, a federal court judge found the 84-year-old Girardi competent to stand trial on charges that he stole more than $15 million from his clients. Girardi is the estranged husband of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Jayne.