Case Digest (A.C. No. 9833)
Facts:
Fortune Medicare, Inc., represented by its President and Chief Operating Officer Dorothea J. Sibal, and Atty. Melan Espela v. Atty. Richard C. Lee, A.C. No. 9833, March 19, 2019, Supreme Court En Banc, Per Curiam.Complainants are Fortune Medicare, Inc. (through its president Dorothea J. Sibal) and Atty. Melan Espela; respondent is Atty. Richard C. Lee. The complaint, dated March 20, 2013, sought respondent’s disbarment for alleged violations of the Code of Professional Responsibility (CPR) arising from events during post-judgment execution of an illegal dismissal award.
Chronology: Respondent obtained a favorable labor award against Fortune in the amount of P3,241,181.00, which was reduced to a monetary computation by Labor Arbiter Fatima Franco and later contested by petitions before the NLRC. While those petitions were pending, LA Franco issued writs of garnishment against several of Fortune’s bank accounts. Fortune and respondent entered into settlement negotiations; they agreed to meet on March 1, 2013 in LA Franco’s office to sign a Compromise Agreement and related pleadings and for Fortune to pay P2,000,000 as settlement.
At the March 1 meeting, according to Fortune and its counsel Atty. Espela, respondent received a bundle of cash amounting to P2,000,000 but refused to sign the Compromise Agreement and Omnibus Motion to Dismiss; instead he announced that the money was only partial payment and signaled two companions who took the cash and left. Atty. Espela attempted to stop respondent; one companion blocked him and another made a gesture as if drawing a concealed firearm, causing Atty. Espela to desist. Fortune filed criminal and administrative complaints against respondent. Respondent, for his part, maintained he accepted the P2,000,000 only as a partial payment; he asserted he had reason to distrust Fortune’s willingness or ability to satisfy the judgment and therefore insisted on cash, and that he issued an Acknowledgment Receipt stating the sum was partial payment.
The Court of Appeals’ dismissal of respondent’s earlier labor petition had left his monetary award final; LA Franco later approved a Compromise Agreement and declared full execution of the judgment considering the P2,000,000 full and complete payment, a fact respondent cites in his defense. The Office of the Court referred Fortune’s complaint to the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) for investigation.
Commissioner Numeriano F. Rodriguez, Jr., in a Report and Recommendation dated August 24, 2015, found respondent guilty of violating Canon 7 and Rule 7.03 of the CPR and recommended three years’ suspension, deeming disbarment too harsh. The IBP Board of G...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did respondent Atty. Richard C. Lee violate Rule 1.01, Rule 7.03, Canon 7, and Canon 8 of the Code of Professional Responsibility?
- If respondent was guilty, what is the appropriate disciplina...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)