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ASAM v. ALABAMA STATE BAR2/23/1996
ON APPLICATION FOR REHEARING
The unpublished memorandum of November 3, 1995, is withdrawn and the following opinion is substituted therefor.
Julia McCain Lampkin Asam appeals from an order of the Alabama State Bar in a disciplinary proceeding that resulted in her disbarment. We affirm.
Based on grievances filed against Asam, the Alabama State Bar filed five formal complaints against Asam; those complaints contained 28 charges. Following a hearing before the Disciplinary Board of the Alabama State Bar ("the Board"), the Board found Asam guilty of 17 of the 28 charges against her, and, on each of the five complaints, the Board ordered Asam disbarred. The Board also imposed the following additional penalties:
"(a) The respondent lawyer will pay all sanctions imposed as attorney's fees by any court, federal or state, resulting from the following civil actions: Williams v. Capps Trailer Sales; Asam v. Judge Bernard Harwood; and Asam v. Vreeland and 20 Defendants (as last amended); and
"(b) . . . rior to filing a petition for reinstatement pursuant to Rule 28 of the Rules of Disciplinary Procedure, the respondent lawyer will:
"(1) Retake and pass the Alabama State Bar Examination and the professional responsibility examination; and
"(2) . . . ubmit to an examination by a qualified medical expert, as the Disciplinary Board shall designate, to inquire into and report to the Disciplinary Board the mental compentency of the respondent. The medical expert shall report his or her findings to the Disciplinary Board. The respondent shall bear the cost of the examination."
For clarity's sake, each complaint is discussed separately.
Complaint One — ASB 92-254
Complaint One involved a civil action filed by Asam on behalf of Jessie Edward Williams. Williams was injured on the job in 1973 and, represented by counsel (not Asam), settled a personal injury claim and a workers' compensation case in 1974. Sixteen years later, Williams attempted to reopen his case with "newly discovered evidence"; however, this Court, holding that the "newly discovered" evidence had been generated during the discovery period of Williams's original lawsuit, affirmed the trial court's dismissal of Williams's complaint. See Williams v. Capps Trailer Sales, Inc., 589 So.2d 159 (Ala. 1991).
Thereafter, Asam filed an action "for Mr. Williams" in a circuit court seeking $5 million in damages, again claiming to have "newly discovered evidence." She sued all of the original defendants, as well as two insurance companies that had not insured any of the parties. The trial court dismissed the complaint and imposed sanctions against Asam. The Court of Civil Appeals affirmed and imposed additional sanctions against Asam. See Williams v. Capps Trailer Sales, Inc., 607 So.2d 1272 (Ala.Civ.App. 1992). This Court denied certiorari review. Asam's separate appeal from the award of additional sanctions was resolved against her in Asam v. Capps Trailer Sales, Inc., 631 So.2d 251 (Ala.Civ.App. 1993). This Court again denied certiorari review.
Asam then filed an identical action on behalf of Williams in a federal district court — again claiming "newly discovered evidence," but adding the State of Alabama as a defendant. The district court dismissed the complaint; the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal; and the Eleventh Circuit imposed sanctions against Asam. Over $32,000 in sanctions were imposed against Asam in those two cases.
Complaint One contained nine charges against Asam: Charge I — violation of DR 1-102(A)(5) ; Charge II — violation of Rule of
Profes
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