| ► Attorney Norbert Doellman, Jr. of Hamilton, OH; ethical elf |
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Attorney Norbert Doellman, Jr. of Hamilton, OH; ethical elf
The state of Ohio presented Norbert Mark Doellman with a law license in 1976after he graduated from Ohio State University Law School. The Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline of the Ohio Supreme Court found William guilty of the following misconduct.
Fist National Bank of Southwestern Ohio hired DiMartino as a collection attorney. Within a few years the Bank terminated DiMartino’s collection services. At the time he had over 150 collection files. The bank made repeated requests for DiMartino to return the collection files and provide an accounting. DiMartino did not return all of the files, provide a complete accounting, or turn over all funds he had received on behalf of the bank.
Eventually the bank sued DiMartino for the funds he received on its behalf and refused to return. The Board found that DiMartino’s conduct during this litigation was, at best, inadequate and dilatory, and, at worst, contemptuous. He failed to properly respond to written discovery requests, didn’t attend scheduled court hearings’ did not comply with the trial court’s order compelling him to produce documents and files to First Financial, and did not appear at his scheduled deposition.
Subsequently, the trial court entered a judgment against DiMartino for $279,292 as a sanction for his failure to comply with the bank’s discovery requests and the trial court’s orders. After the judgment was entered DiMartino filed for bankruptcy and the $279,292 debt to the bank was discharged by the bankruptcy court. Put simply, DiMartino made out like a bandito!
As a consequence of his misconduct, the enablers for Attorney Misfits sitting on the Ohio Supreme Court punished Norbert by gifting him with a complimentary one-year stayed suspension of his law license. In truth, Norbert received absolutely no punishment of any kind.
The comedians sitting on the Ohio Supreme Court had the chutzpah to say, “The primary purpose of disciplinary sanctions is not to punish the offender but to protect the public.”
As we speak (ca. May 2012) Norbert continues to practice law in the Hamilton, Ohio area.
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