Austin Attorney Slammed for Fabricating Evidence

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Summary: A judge has ordered an Austin-area attorney to pay over $175K for making up evidence and make false statements.

Austin attorney Omar Rosales has been ordered to pay over $175,000 by a federal magistrate judge for fabricating lies about another attorney. U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Lane signed the 49-page order against Rosales for presenting an email in court that he made up where he called fellow attorney Jim Harrington a racist and anti-Semitic. Harrington, a civil rights attorney was battling Rosales in a disabilities lawsuit.

  

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Lane stated, “From his baseless and offensive attacks on opposing counsel, memorialized in over a hundred court filings, to his fabrication of an e-mail submitted as evidence to the court, Rosales has behaved in embarrassing and shocking ways throughout his litigation.” Lane is also referring the incident to the local federal bar disciplinary committee for possible disbarment of Rosales from the Western District of Texas.

Rosales has already stated that he intends to object within 15 days and will appeal to U.S. district judges Robert Pitman and Lee Yeakel if necessary. The penalty he has been ordered to pay is for attorney fees. Harrington will collect roughly $33,000 while his lawyers Jason Panzer and Charles Herring will collect the remaining amount.

Rosales filed lawsuits against 385 small businesses for not complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act. He charged the businesses with not having a proper entrance ramp, no van accessible parking, and more. Harrington represented six defendants.

Many of the business sued settled with Rosales’ client Jon Deutsch for between $5,000 and $7,000 each instead of going to court. Harrington called Rosales actions a “money-making” venture. He explained, “In my 43 years as a lawyer, I have never seen a guy like Rosales engage in the fabrication of evidence and making all of these slanderous statements. I’ve never seen it before. He should be sanctioned. We shouldn’t have any lawyers like that going around slandering people and fabricating evidence.”

Do you think Rosales deserved the penalty? Tell us in the comments below.

To learn more about bad lawyers, read these articles:

• 22 Lawyers in Florida Receive Their Punishments by Supreme Court
• Father and Son Lawyers Arrested for Raping Young Girl
• 9 Lawyers Associated with Child Pornography

Photo: kxan.com