HOUSTON - The First Court of Appeals recently affirmed a judgment disbarring an attorney who did not immediately report his client’s death to the court upon learning that she died.
The May 22 opinion stems from a disciplinary action brought by the Commission for Lawyer Discipline against Richard Andert Robbins.
Court records show Robbins was hired by Cindy Crisp to represent her in a breach-of-contract case. Crisp suffered from multiple sclerosis and sold some of her personal property to raise money for her care but the checks bounced.
“Over the next year and a half, Crisp’s health declined, and Robins fell out of contact with her,” the opinion states. “In November 2016, Robins filed suit on Crisp’s behalf to collect payment from Sauls for the bounced checks, even though he doubted whether Crisp was still alive.”
Robbins reached out to Crisp’s two sons and learned she had died in 2015, more than a year before the suit was filed.
“Robins did not take any immediate action to notify either the trial court or (the defendant’s attorney) of Crisp’s death,” the opinion states.
One of Crisp’s sons filed a grievance and the commission charged Robins with multiple violations of Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, including failure to surrender client property and failure to disclose a fact to avoid assisting fraud.
According to the opinion, before the trial setting Robins filed an amended response, alleging an affirmative counterclaim for religious discrimination under the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act (TRFRA).
“In written discovery responses, the commission had identified as one factual basis for its claims Robbins’ assertion that he was not required to disclose the fact of Crisp’s death because her family may have wished to pursue cryopreservation, which is a process that may preserve cells, tissues, and organs by freezing them at extremely low temperatures,” the opinion states.
“According to Robins, the commission’s efforts to penalize him for his position on cryogenics violated his religious freedom as a member of the Church of Perpetual Life, which included beliefs that each person is ‘blessed with one life that has infinite potential through science’ and that people ‘are joined together through an alliance of potential universal resuscitation.’”
The opinion states the trial court dismissed Robins’ TRFRA counterclaim because it had no relevance in the trial of the disciplinary case. A jury found he engaged in professional misconduct and the court entered a judgment disbarring him from practicing law.
Appeals case No. 01-23-00329-CV
