State of Oklahoma ex rel. Oklahoma Bar Association v. Robert I. Mayes, Jr.

Summary

The Oklahoma Supreme Court reviewed disciplinary charges against Robert I. Mayes, Jr. involving the misappropriation of settlement funds belonging to two minor heirs and failure to cooperate with the Oklahoma Bar Association's grievance investigation. Upon de novo review, the court ordered disbarment and assessed $653.57 in costs.

Holdings

1. Clear and convincing evidence established misappropriation, rather than merely commingling or simple conversion, because Mayes purposefully deprived the minor beneficiaries of funds entrusted for their benefit through deceitful representations and use of the money for his own purposes.
2. Clear and convincing evidence established that Mayes failed to cooperate because he did not provide a full, fair, and timely response to the grievance and did not produce requested trust-account records.
3. Disbarment and assessment of $653.57 in proceeding costs were warranted by Mayes's misappropriation, failure to cooperate, prior disciplinary history, and the discipline imposed in similar cases.

Questions Presented

1. Whether clear and convincing evidence established that Mayes mismanaged and misappropriated settlement funds belonging to two minor children.
2. Whether clear and convincing evidence established that Mayes failed to cooperate and provide a full, fair, and timely response during the grievance investigation.
3. Whether Mayes's misconduct, prior disciplinary history, and comparable disciplinary cases warranted disbarment and assessment of $653.57 in costs.

Disposition

other