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In re Bordelon1/7/2005
This disciplinary matter arises from formal charges filed by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel ("ODC") against respondent, J. Michael Bordelon, an attorney licensed to practice law in Louisiana.
UNDERLYING FACTS
In 1987, Denise Seidman was injured while evacuating an airplane using its emergency slide. Ms. Seidman retained counsel to file suit against the airline in federal court. The case proceeded to trial and the jury rendered a substantial verdict in Ms. Seidman's favor. The district court subsequently denied a motion for new trial filed by the airline on the condition that Ms. Seidman accept a remittitur. Ms. Seidman accepted the remittitur and judgment was entered in accordance therewith. On February 15, 1991, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit remanded the case for a new trial on the issue of damages if Ms. Seidman was unwilling to accept a further reduction of the award.
Following the appellate court's decision, Ms. Seidman had difficulty contacting her attorney to discuss her case. As a result, in late August of 1991, she consulted with respondent, to whom she was referred by a mutual friend. Over the next three months, respondent met with Ms. Seidman on several occasions to discuss the personal injury case. He investigated the current posture of the case, spoke to Ms. Seidman's attorney, and attempted to enlist other attorneys to re-try the case. Eventually, however, Ms. Seidman's original attorney contacted her, and in November 1991, Ms. Seidman authorized the settlement of the case for $650,000. In mid-December 1991, Ms. Seidman received $250,000 as the net proceeds of her personal injury settlement.
At about the same time that Ms. Seidman received the settlement, she and respondent began a consensual sexual relationship, which continued through the fall of 1992. During the relationship, respondent suggested to Ms. Seidman that she could "invest" some of her settlement by loaning him $20,000 for the down payment on a home he and his wife wanted to purchase. Ms. Seidman agreed to do so, and on January 15, 1992, respondent executed an unsecured promissory note in her favor. Between 1992 and 1994, respondent made periodic interest payments on the promissory note. He also reduced the principal balance of the note to $14,132 as of October 1994.
On October 20, 1994, Ms. Seidman was arrested in New Orleans on drug-related charges. She immediately contacted respondent, who obtained her release from jail on a bond secured by the home that he shared with his wife. Ms. Seidman then moved into respondent's home for a period of several months. During this time, respondent demanded that Ms. Seidman return the original $20,000 promissory note to him. When Ms. Seidman was unable to locate the note, respondent prepared an affidavit for her signature attesting that the original promissory note had been lost. The November 20, 1994 affidavit also stated that the $20,000 loan had been "paid in full and completely discharged by the makers, and fully satisfied." Ms. Seidman denied that she was told of this provision at the time she signed the affidavit, which she alleged was signed under duress, and she denied that the loan had been fully satisfied by respondent.
Ms. Seidman left respondent's home in January 1995. By letter to respondent dated February 1, 1995, Ms. Seidman requested full repayment of the balance of the principal, some $14,200, and accrued interest. Respondent refused Ms. Seidman's demand, stating that the note "has been paid." In November 1995, Ms. Seidman filed a complaint against respondent with the ODC, alleging, among other things, that respondent had refused to repay the loan and that he had coerced her t
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