Opinion ID: 1819047
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: counts ii, iii, iv, v, and vi

Text: These counts, in the aggregate, are concerned with certain of respondent's business activities, both as a lawyer and in the business field, between approximately January 1977 and December 1980. Each count charges that respondent committed acts which violated his oath of office as an attorney, set out in § 7-104, and were in violation of DR 1-102, previously set out in detail. The acts set out in counts II, III, IV, and V were done in connection with various business transactions between Marvin Copple, as seller, and respondent and Paul Galter, as buyers. In this connection the formal charges allege, in pertinent part, as follows: COUNT II 1. That on or about January 12, 1977, the Respondent, Paul L. Douglas, and Paul Galter, an attorney at law ... and a business associate of the Respondent, jointly signed a Purchase Agreement in which they contracted to purchase certain real estate from the said Marvin E. Copple for the sume [sic] of $241,744.00. 2. That at all times mentioned herein, there was in existence, the Nebraska Political Accountability and Disclosure Act, being Sections 49-1401 to 49-14, 138, Revised Statutes of Nebraska, 1943, Reissue of 1978, as amended effective August 30, 1981, 1982 Cummulative [sic] Supplement; that pursuant to the terms, provisions and requirements of said Nebraska Political Accountability and Disclosure Act, the said Paul L. Douglas, Respondent, did file on February 27, 1978, with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission, a statement of financial interest as required by said Act for the calendar year 1977. 3. That Section 49-1496 of said Act required the Respondent to disclose the name, address and nature of business of each creditor ... to whom the Respondent may have owed or guaranteed the sum of $1,000.00 or more. 4. That in said statement filed by the said Paul L. Douglas, Respondent, on February 27, 1978, he failed to report or to disclose that he had contracted to purchase certain real estate from Marvin E. Copple for the sum of $241,744.00, and that he was so indebted to Marvin E. Copple, and that Marvin E. Copple was a creditor of the said Paul L. Douglas, Respondent, in the amount of $241,744.00; that the failure of the said Paul L. Douglas, Respondent, to so report and disclose the said indebtedness [sic]. 5. That the actions of the Respondent, as set forth above, constitute a violation of his Oath of Office as an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Nebraska, as provided by Section 7-104 R.R.S. 1977, and are in violation of the following provisions of the Code of Professional Responsibility, to-wit: [DR 1-102, as set out above]. COUNT III 1. That on or about September 8, 1977, the Respondent, Paul L. Douglas, and Paul Galter ... jointly signed a Purchase Agreement in which they contracted to purchase certain real estate from the said Marvin E. Copple for the sum of $320,755.00. 2. Paragraph 2 of Count II is made a part hereof by reference, as if fully set out herein. 3. Paragraph 3 of Count II is made a part hereof by reference, as if fully set out herein. 4. That in said statement filed by the said Paul L. Douglas, Respondent, on February 27, 1978, he failed to report or to disclose that he had contracted to purchase certain real estate from Marvin E. Copple for the sum of $320,755.00, and that he was so indebted to Marvin E. Copple, and that Marvin E. Copple was a creditor of the said Paul L. Douglas, Respondent, in the amount of $320,755.00; that the failure of the said Paul L. Douglas, Respondent, to so report and disclose the said indebtedness [sic]. 5. [Same as paragraph 5 in count II.] COUNT IV 1. That on or about June 1, 1979, the Respondent, Paul L. Douglas, and Paul Galter ... jointly signed a Purchase Agreement in which they contracted to purchase certain real estate from the said Marvin E. Copple for the sum of $105,600.00. 2. Paragraph 2 of Count II is made a part hereof by reference, as if fully set out herein. 3. Paragraph 3 of Count II is made a part hereof by reference, as if fully set out herein. 4. That in said statement filed by the said Paul L. Douglas, Respondent, on March 27, 1980, he failed to report or to disclose that he had contracted to purchase certain real estate from Marvin E. Copple for the sum of $105,600.00, and that he was so indebted to Marvin E. Copple, and that Marvin E. Copple was a creditor of the said Paul L. Douglas, Respondent, in the amount of $105,600.00; that the failure of the said Paul L. Douglas, Respondent, to so report and disclose the said indebtedness [sic]. 5. [Same as paragraph 5 of count II.] COUNT V 1. That on or about April 20, 1977, the Respondent, Paul L. Douglas, borrowed from the Commonwealth Savings Company of Lincoln, the sum of $241,744.00; that said loan was thereafter extended and renewed until on or about August 30, 1979, when said loan was paid in full by the Respondent, Paul L. Douglas; that the said loan and the extensions and the renewals thereof were not made in the ordinary course of business. 2. Paragraph 2 of Count II is made a part hereof by reference, as if fully set out herein. 3. Paragraph 3 of Count II is made a part hereof by reference, as if fully set out herein. 4. That the Respondent, Paul L. Douglas, failed to report or to disclose the above-mentioned loan of April 20, 1977, and its subsequent renewals in the statements filed for the years 1977, 1978 and 1979. 5. [Same as paragraph 5 of count II.] Count VI concerns certain legal services rendered by respondent to Marvin Copple and alleges, in pertinent part, as follows: COUNT VI 1. That in the years 1978, 1979 and 1980, the Respondent, Paul L. Douglas, performed legal services for Marvin E. Copple in connection with the Timber Ridge Real Estate Development, and that in consideration of the above services, the said Marvin E. Copple paid to the Respondent, Paul L. Douglas, by his personal check the following: $ 5,000.00 on or about December 19, 1978 $ 5,000.00 on or about April 13, 1979 $ 7,500.00 on or about September 5, 1979 $15,000.00 on or about December 24, 1980 $ 5,000.00 in the year 1980 (exact date not given) __________ TOTAL - $37,500.00 2. Paragraph 2 of Count II is made a part hereof by reference, as if fully set out herein. 3. Paragraph 3 of Count II is made a part hereof by reference, as if fully set out herein. 4. That in the statement filed by the said Paul L. Douglas, Respondent, for the calendar years 1978, 1979 and 1980, he failed to report or to disclose therein that he had received income of more than $1,000.00 in each of said years from the said Marvin E. Copple or from the Timber Ridge Real Estate Development, as herein alleged. 5. [Same as paragraph 5 in count II.] A summary of these five charges is well set out at pages 51 and 52 of the referee's report, as follows: Counts II through VI: Accountability and Disclosure Omissions Counts II and III charge that the Respondent on his 1977 Statement of Financial Interests filed with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission pursuant to Neb.Rev.Stat. § 49-1493 (Cum.Supp.1976) failed to identify Marvin Copple as a creditor to whom $1,000 or more was owed, despite the alleged debt arising, respectively, from the January 12, 1977 lot purchase agreement for $241,744 and from the September 8, 1977 lot purchase agreement for $320,755. Count IV charges Douglas omitted from his 1979 Statement of Financial Interests the name of Marvin Copple as a creditor with respect to the June 1, 1979 lot purchase agreement for $105,600. Count V charges the Respondent omitted from his Statements of Financial Interests for 1977, 1978 and 1979 the name of Commonwealth as a creditor, although during each of those years he owed Commonwealth $241,744 plus interest upon a loan extended April 20, 1977 and periodically renewed until repayment on August 30, 1979. Count VI charges that the Respondent on his 1978, 1979 and 1980 Statements of Financial Interests failed to disclose as additional income of $1,000 or more payments totalling $37,500 from Marvin Copple in connection with the Timber Ridge Real Estate Development for `legal services' . As set out above, in each count the formal charge alleged the applicability of the Nebraska Political Accountability and Disclosure Act, §§ 49-1401 et seq. Section 49-1496 (Reissue 1978) of that act provided, in pertinent part, at the times in question, as follows: 49-1496. Statement of financial interests; form; contents; enumerated. (1) The statement of financial interests filed pursuant to sections 49-1493 to 49-14,104 shall be on a form prescribed by the commission. (2) Individuals required to file under sections 49-1493 to 49-1495 shall file the following information for themselves: (a) The name and address of and the nature of association ...; (b) The name, address, and nature of business of a person from whom any income or gift in the value of one thousand dollars or more was received during the preceding year and the nature of the services rendered. If income results from employment by, operation of or participation in a proprietorship or partnership or professional corporation or business or nonprofit corporation or other person, the person may list the proprietorship or partnership or professional corporation or business or nonprofit corporation or other person as the source and not the patrons, customers, patients or clients of the proprietorship or partnership or professional corporation or business or nonprofit corporation or other person; (c) The description, including nature and location of all real property except the residence of the individual, in the state, the fair market value of which exceeds one thousand dollars ...; (d) The name and address of each creditor to whom the value of one thousand dollars or more was owed by the filer or a member of the filer's immediate family. Accounts payable, debts arising out of retail installment transactions or from loans made by financial institutions in the ordinary course of business, loans from a relative, and land contracts that have been properly recorded with the county clerk or the register of deeds need not be included; .... (f) Such other information as the person required to file the statement or the commission deems necessary, after notice and hearing, to carry out the purposes of sections 49-1401 to 49-14,138. The individuals required to file statements under § 49-1496 specifically include the Attorney General of Nebraska, as set out in § 49-1493(1) (Reissue 1978). In his brief at 21, respondent concedes that if the Respondent's conduct in filing his reports with the Nebraska Political Accountability and Disclosure Commission constituted dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation, it might constitute grounds for discipline in the present proceedings irrespective of the statute's constitutionality. Respondent goes on to state: However, in view of the unconstitutionality of the statute, that conduct must be evaluated on its own and such evaluation may not attribute any weight or degree of seriousness to the alleged violation of an unconstitutional statute. Respondent attacks the constitutionality of the statute on the grounds that § 49-14,105 (Reissue 1984) provides that the Governor of the State appoints four members of the nine-member commission (and two of those appointments must be made from two lists submitted by the Legislature), while the Secretary of State appoints the other four appointed members (and two of those are from lists submitted by the Republican and Democratic state chairpersons). Respondent contends that the Legislature may not constitutionally encroach upon the executive branch, citing State ex rel. Beck v. Young, 154 Neb. 588, 48 N.W.2d 677 (1951), and Wittler v. Baumgartner, 180 Neb. 446, 144 N.W.2d 62 (1966). This part of respondent's attack on the constitutionality of §§ 49-1401 et seq. was answered by a brief filed by the current Nebraska Attorney General. The Attorney General contends that the constitutionality of the act is irrelevant to a disciplinary proceeding and that the respondent has no standing to challenge it. We agree. Respondent does not set out the basis of his standing to challenge the act. The matter before us is not confined to the question as to whether respondent has violated the act, but the matter of respondent's conduct. We have previously addressed the issue of how the validity of a statute affects disciplinary proceedings against an attorney. In State ex rel. Nebraska State Bar Assn. v. Leonard, 212 Neb. 379, 322 N.W.2d 794 (1982), the court considered the discipline of an attorney who had entered a plea of nolo contendere to violation of a federal statute. It was noted by the referee that the statute in question was not actually in effect during the period of time charged in the attorney's indictment. Thus, as applied to the disciplined attorney, it could have been argued that the statute was an ex post facto law. The court stated at 383, 322 N.W.2d at 796: The fact that the federal statute, which the respondent was charged with having violated, was an ex post facto law is not controlling in this proceeding for several reasons. It is the respondent's conduct or actions which is [sic] in issue rather than whether he was technically guilty of the crime charged. An attorney may be subjected to disciplinary action for conduct outside the practice of law for which no criminal prosecution has been instituted or conviction had. State ex rel. Nebraska State Bar Assn. v. Bremers, 200 Neb. 481, 264 N.W.2d 194 (1978). The issue of the constitutionality or unconstitutionality of the Nebraska Political Accountability and Disclosure Act is irrelevant to the issues before us. In Dennis v. United States, 384 U.S. 855, 86 S.Ct. 1840, 16 L.Ed.2d 973 (1966), the petitioners were charged with conspiring to defraud the government. Specifically, it was alleged that the petitioners filed false statements or affidavits in order to secure the services of the National Labor Relations Board. The petitioners contended that their convictions could not stand because the statute requiring the filing of the statements or affidavits was unconstitutional as a bill of attainder. To this, the Court in Dennis replied at 384 U.S. at 865, 86 S.Ct. at 1846: We need not reach this question, for the petitioners are in no position to attack the constitutionality of § 9(h). They were indicted for an alleged conspiracy, cynical and fraudulent, to circumvent the statute. Whatever might be the result where the constitutionality of a statute is challenged by those who of necessity violate its provisions and seek relief in the courts is not relevant here. This is not such a case. The indictment here alleges an effort to circumvent the law and not to challenge ita purported compliance with the statute designed to avoid the courts, not to invoke their jurisdiction. Quoting Kay v. United States, 303 U.S. 1, 58 S.Ct. 468, 82 L.Ed. 607 (1938), the Dennis Court stated at 384 U.S. at 866, 86 S.Ct. at 1847: When one undertakes to cheat the Government or to mislead its officers, or those acting under its authority, by false statements, he has no standing to assert that the operations of the Government in which the effort to cheat or mislead is made are without constitutional sanction. In Dennis, the prosecution was for the petitioners' fraud. It was not an action to enforce the statute claimed to be unconstitutional. The same is true with the case at bar. It is a case directed at the respondent's actions, not a case to enforce the statute claimed to be unconstitutional. [O]ne who furnishes false information to the Government in feigned compliance with a statutory requirement cannot defend against prosecution for his fraud by challenging the validity of the requirement itself. United States v. Knox, 396 U.S. 77, 79, 90 S.Ct. 363, 365, 24 L.Ed.2d 275 (1969). In the proceeding before us, relator is not trying in any way to charge respondent with any violation of the act, but has merely alleged that certain conduct of respondent has not measured up to the standard that our statutes have set for certain purposes. Respondent, of course, is in a particular situation where he, as the Attorney General of Nebraska, chose to comply with the act by making filings under the act. We hold that respondent has no standing to challenge the act's constitutionality in this proceeding and that we are judging his conduct in furnishing information to the public, as required by the act. If respondent has chosen to mislead the public by his filings under the act, we are not concerned with any violation of the act, but with his conduct in improperly informing, or in misleading, the public. In summary, this court, like the U.S. Supreme Court in the Dennis case, does not reach the question as to the constitutionality of §§ 49-1401 et seq., but we consider respondent's conduct under the act. Section 49-1493 requires that the Attorney General shall file with the commission a statement of financial interests as provided in sections 49-1496 and 49-1497.... Section 49-1496(2)(d) (Reissue 1978) provides: The name and address of each creditor to whom the value of one thousand dollars or more was owed by the filer or a member of the filer's immediate family. Accounts payable, debts arising out of retail installment transactions or from loans made by financial institutions in the ordinary course of business, loans from a relative, and land contracts that have been properly recorded with the county clerk or the register of deeds need not be included. The evidence shows that respondent and Paul Galter entered into three purchase agreements with Marvin Copple: (1) on January 12, 1977, in the amount of $241,744 (count II); (2) on September 8, 1977, in the amount of $320,755 (count III); and (3) on June 1, 1979, in the amount of $105,600 (count IV). The referee, at page 56 of his report, determined: On their face, the purchase agreements appear to create a contractual obligation for the Respondent and Paul Galter to pay Marvin Copple the full purchase price upon the sale of the lots, issuance of building permits or expiration of one year from the dates of the agreements. But the actual agreement between the parties to the contract was that no payment was necessary, including the down payment which the contracts recited had been paid but actually had not been, until Marvin Copple would sell a lot and the new purchaser would pay the money. At that point, according to the oral agreement between the parties and their course of conduct, Copple would deed the lot to the Respondent, the Respondent would sign a deed (prepared by Copple) to the new purchaser, the new purchaser would pay the Respondent, the Respondent would pay Copple the originally agreed-upon purchase price, and the Respondent and Paul Galter would split the profit from the sale. At least this was the procedure that was followed for the 40 lots covered by the September 8, 1977 agreement and the 12 lots under the June 1, 1979 agreement. These 52 lots all were sold to Judith Driscoll in two transactions. The original group of 26 lots were handled differently in that Marvin Copple arranged for Commonwealth to loan to the Respondent the agreed-upon purchase price for the 26 lots in exchange for a note made by the Respondent and guaranteed by Paul Galter and a mortgage. For these lots, Copple received full payment at the time of the loan and the Respondent repaid principal and interest to Commonwealth as Copple sold the lots to third parties, including eight lots sold to Driscoll. Thus, for the 26 lots, there was a real obligation and debt to Commonwealth. But for the 26 lots before the Commonwealth loan and the later groups of 40 lots and 12 lots, no current or binding obligation existed. Although the Commonwealth loan and the sales to Driscoll intervened before the one-year pay back provisions of the lot purchase agreements might have come into effect, there is no evidence to contradict the testimony of the parties to those agreements that the Respondent and Paul Galter would not have been obligated to pay had the lots not sold and that the parties could have changed the agreements to designate different lots, had they so chosen. Thus, the agreement between the parties as it actually existed is consistent with the Respondent's position that no reportable debt to Marvin Copple existed with respect to the lots. I do not read the Act to require identification of a seller of property when the obligation to pay for it arises simultaneously with the transfer of title. Turning first to the allegations of count II, the record shows the following. On January 12, 1977, respondent and Paul Galter signed a purchase agreement agreeing to purchase, from Marvin Copple, 26 described lots in a subdivision in Lancaster County, Nebraska. In the purchase agreement, the parties agreed that [t]he total purchase price shall be the sum of $241,774.00 which the parties agree has been computed on the basis of one hundred Dollars ($ 100.00 ) per frontal foot for the real estate described above. In this provision, and in later provisions discussed, the underlined words were written, while the balance was preprinted. The agreement acknowledges the seller's receipt of  One hundred Dollars ($ 100.00 ) per lot at the time of the execution of this agreement.... This receipted amount was not paid by buyers at the time the agreement was signed. The agreement further provided that the balance, plus interest at 8 ¾ percent per annum beginning 120 days after the agreement was executed, was due when the lots were sold, or when a building permit was obtained for a lot, provided, however, that the full purchase price for each lot, plus interest ... shall be paid not later than Jan. 12, 1978.  The agreement further provided that Marvin Copple had the right to sell, assign, pledge, encumber or hypothecate this Purchase Agreement. Marvin Copple did assign this agreement to the Commonwealth Savings Company on April 20, 1977. Respondent signed a mortgage and note to Commonwealth and on that date Commonwealth issued a check in the amount of $241,744 to respondent, Marvin E. Copple, and Paul Galter. Respondent and Galter endorsed and gave the Commonwealth check to Marvin Copple. In exchange, respondent testified, Marvin Copple gave respondent a deed to the 26 lots, and respondent gave the deeds to Commonwealth. These deeds are not in evidence as such, and the only information concerning the deeds exists in other documents respondent's 1977 income tax return (exhibit 19) and exhibit 58, a partial abstract as to the lots described in the three purchase agreements between Copple, respondent, and Galter. The 1977 tax return shows a sale of an undivided interest in 10 lots acquired on April 20, 1977, and an installment sale of 14 lots also acquired April 20. In each of those installment sales, one payment of $50 is indicated, resulting in a reportable gain of approximately $6 per lot. Exhibit 58 also shows that respondent received deeds to 12 lots from Copple and his wife on April 20, 1977, five separate deeds to five different lots later in 1977, and deeds to six other lots in 1978; three lots are unaccounted for. Respondent's 1979 income tax return showed a gain resulting from the sale of 10 lots that were acquired on April 20, 1977. The foregoing shows the confusion generated by the sloppy records of respondent, and results in this court, or any investigator of this whole situation, being unable to determine what actually occurred. The specific allegations of counts II, III, and IV allege that respondent did not report an indebtedness to Marvin Copple in his statement of financial interests (hereinafter disclosure report) forms filed with the State. For the years 1977 and 1978, the reports filed by respondent stated None in answer to the question in item 11 on the forms, Name and Address of Each Creditor to whom the Value of $1,000 or More was Owed by You.... For the year 1979, respondent's report states None in answer to the question in item 10, Creditors to whom $1,000 or More was Owed by You.... The referee determined that respondent's answers were not so incorrect as to be a violation of the disclosure act and that relator had failed to prove the charges against respondent in counts II, III, and IV. The referee thus determined that respondent was entitled to state in his disclosure report that he was indebted to no one in excess of $1,000 in 1977, because the disclosure act does not require that a filer report the debt rising from a purchase if the obligation to pay for it arises simultaneously with the transfer of title. We cannot agree with that conclusion. The facts are undisputed. Respondent signed three purchase agreements, totaling $668,129. In return, Marvin Copple agreed to convey to respondent (and Paul Galter) specific real property. Respondent contends the transaction was only a way to compensate him for services rendered to Marvin Copple and did not create a debt from respondent to Copple. Respondent's position flies in the face of the way he himself has treated the transaction, and in the face of the realities of the situation. To maintain his position, respondent must contend that the contract between him and Copple means nothing and that their unexpressed intention controls the language and effective meaning of the agreement. That is not the law in this state where third parties, other than the two contracting parties, are induced to rely on such written agreements. Others relied on the written contracts between respondent and Copple. In the case of the first 26-lot purchase agreement, Commonwealth, as assignee of the agreement, relied on the validity of the written agreement. In the other two purchase agreements, the U.S. Government and the State of Nebraska, as taxing authorities, relied on the agreements, and Nebraska is concerned, as a government entity relies on truthful information furnished to it as to the activities of its officials. We have consistently held that an unambiguous contract is not subject to interpretation or construction and that courts are not free to rewrite a contract for parties or speculate as to terms which the parties have not seen fit to set out. T.V. Transmission v. City of Lincoln, 220 Neb. 887, 374 N.W.2d 49 (1985). We have stated that a written contract expressed in unambiguous language is not subject to interpretation or construction, and the parties' intention must be determined from its contents alone. Gilbreath v. Ridgeway, 218 Neb. 822, 826, 360 N.W.2d 474, 477 (1984). In this case, the contract between respondent and Copple is not ambiguous in any way. It was, in fact, written on a form used in the ordinary course of Copple's business to transfer lots. If respondent wanted to express another contractual arrangement, he was free to do so. Respondent was an experienced lawyer. It is difficult to find that respondent signed an assignable agreement that required him to pay substantial sums of money within 1 year unless he was willing to be bound by such promises. The actual interpretation respondent placed on the agreements shows the same result. Respondent admits the agreements constituted the transfer of an interest in land by Copple to respondent by the fact respondent states in his disclosure reports that he has an interest in the land. At that point the land is a gift to him, or he owes someone for it. Respondent does not contend he paid for the land at the time the agreement was signed, nor does he contend it was a gift. In his federal income tax returns for 1977 and 1979, respondent indicated a capital gains sale, with an acquisition date of the contract date. To adopt the referee's reasoning would mean that respondent could not use the contract date as a purchase date, but rather the date that Copple arranged for a sale from respondent to others. Respondent's obligation to Copple did not arise when respondent sold the property, but arose under the written agreement with Copple. This holding that both respondent and Copple had rights and duties under the contract is clearly exemplified in the 26-lot transaction of January 12 and April 20, 1977. The agreement was actually assigned to a third party. There were no further provisions in the two later agreements that the same thing could not be done again. The possibility of third-party participation in the assignable contracts could not be ruled out by the respondent's oral assertions that he would not permit such assignment. As set out in count II, respondent was indebted to Copple in 1977 in amounts greater than $1,000. He did not report such debts on his disclosure forms. We find that respondent is guilty of the charges set out against him in count II. The same reasoning applies to the allegations in counts III and IV. We find respondent guilty of the charges set out against him in counts III and IV. A different factual situation is set out in count V. It is undisputed that respondent did not list Commonwealth Savings Company as a creditor in his disclosure forms for the years 1977, 1978, or 1979; that he owed Commonwealth money in each of those years; and that there was a Commonwealth loan in 1977, as set out above in connection with the 26-lot purchase agreement in 1977. Respondent did not report any Commonwealth loans on his disclosure reports. His reason was that in the instructions issued with the 1977 form, there was a proviso that loans of the following types need not be reported: (b) ... Accounts payable, debts arising out of retail installment transactions or from loans made by financial institutions in the ordinary course of business, loans from a relative, and land contracts that have been recorded with the County Clerk or the Register of Deeds. A similar provision was in the 1979 instructions. These instructions relfected generally the provisions of § 49-1496(2)(d). Respondent contends any loans made by Commonwealth to him were made by financial institutions in the ordinary course of business. The referee agreed with respondent's position and held that since the loans were made in the ordinary course of Commonwealth's business, respondent had no obligation to disclose them. Since we are judging respondent's conduct, the definition of ordinary course of business could refer to the lender's business, and we cannot say the respondent did not comply with the requirements of the disclosure act in this respect. We determine that respondent is not guilty of the charges against him in count V. A still different problem exists with regard to count VI. In that count, respondent is charged with failing to report income received from Marvin Copple in 1978, 1979, and 1980. Again, the facts are not in dispute. Copple, by five personal checks, paid respondent the total sum of $37,500 in those years. On his disclosure forms for those years, respondent did not report any income from Copple in any of those years. In the 1978 report, item 8 requested the following information: Name, Address and Nature of Business of a Person from whom Any Income or Gift in the Value of $1,000 or More was Received During the Period of This Report and the Nature of the Services Rendered or Circumstances of Gift, and Nature of Services Rendered.... Respondent answered this question, in part, Foxhollow Development, 1200 Manchester Dr., Lincoln, NE 68528; Real Estate; and described the services rendered as Land Development. In the 1979 and 1980 reports, item 6, entitled Places of Employment & Business Associations, requested the following information: Names and Addresses of Places of Employment and Businesses; Nature of Association (Specify: employee, owner, partner, director, officer, trustee.... See Instructions Item 6); and If you received more than $1,000 from such sources, include nature of payor's business and services you rendered. In the 1979 report, respondent furnished this requested information, in part, by setting out the name and address of places of employment as Foxhollow Development, 1200 Manchester Dr., Lincoln, NE 68528; in describing the nature of the association, replied, Owner of certain lots; and set out the nature of the payor's business as Land development. Made judgement decisions and financial investments. In the 1980 report, the same questions were answered: Foxhollow Development, 1200 Manchester Dr., Lincoln, NE 68528; the nature of association as Real Estate Development; and the nature of the payor's business in the same way as in 1979. The instructions for answering item 8 in the 1978 report included: (b) `Person' means a business, individual, proprietorship, firm, partnership, joint venture, syndicate, business trust, labor organization, company, corporation, association, committee or any other organization or group of persons acting jointly. The instructions as to how to respond to item 6 in the 1979 and 1980 reports included: Business includes a government, political subdivision, body corporate and partnership, sole proprietorship, firm, enterprise, franchise, association, organization, self-employed individual, holding company, joint stock company, receivership, trust, activity or entity. OWNER  applies to situations where the filer is the sole proprietor of a business. Under the column entitled Names and Addresses of Places of Employment and Businesses, the filer's name, trade name or name in which he did business should be used. The referee describes the charges in count VI as follows: Like the other charges, Count VI alleges that the actions set out in the charge constitute a violation of the Respondent's oath of office as an attorney and violate DR1-102 of the Code of Professional Responsibility. That provision of the Code deals with violations of disciplinary rules, illegal conduct involving moral turpitude, dishonesty, fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, and any other conduct adversely reflecting on fitness to practice law. I fail to see how any of these characterizations could properly be placed on the Respondent's disclosure of his business associations and sources of income during 1978 through 1980. All but $7,500 of the $37,500 referred to in Count VI related to the Respondent's services in connection with the Fox Hollow development of Marvin Copple. Instead of listing the name of the developer, the Respondent listed the name of the development and the address which Marvin Copple used for his real estate development activities. I can see nothing dishonest, deceitful, or otherwise malevolent about listing the development rather than the developer. Only one of the checks from Copple related to his services on the Timber Ridge development rather than the Fox Hollow development. To be consistent, the Respondent should have listed on his 1979 Statement of Financial Interests the name of Timber Ridge Development or Marvin Copple's name as the developer to whom he rendered services. The Fox Hollow listing in 1979 is accurate because $5,000 was received during that year for services related to Fox Hollow. The question is whether the omission of the name of Timber Ridge or of Marvin Copple constitutes a violation of the Code. While the omission, strictly speaking, is inaccurate, I believe the purpose of the Act was fulfilled by disclosing involvement with another real estate development of Marvin Copple, listing Copple's business address, and disclosing in a general way his involvement in land development. I conclude that the omission of Timber Ridge or Marvin Copple from the 1979 statement cannot be characterized by reference to any of the language of DR 1-102. Insofar as it is contended that respondent's conduct in the reporting of his financial activities in his filed disclosure forms cannot be considered as a violation of his oath of office as an attorney or the provisions of DR 1-102, we find that if such conduct constitutes dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation or other conduct that adversely reflects on his fitness to practice law, it is sufficient to violate DR 1-102; or if such conduct results in a failure to faithfully discharge the duties of an attorney and counselor, it is sufficient to violate respondent's oath as an attorney, as set out in § 7-104. The referee found that respondent's disclosure of his business associations and sources of income during 1978 through 1980 did not violate any of respondent's duties as set out above. We cannot agree. Respondent's disclosure form for 1978 showed he received income greater than $1,000 from a person described as Foxhollow Development. The statutory requirement is set out in § 49-1496(2)(b), and requires the filing of information as follows: The name, address, and nature of business of a person from whom any income or gift in the value of one thousand dollars or more was received during the preceding year and the nature of the services rendered. Person is defined in § 49-1438 as: Person shall mean a business, individual, proprietorship, firm, partnership, joint venture, syndicate, business trust, labor organization, company, corporation, association, committee, or any other organization or group of persons acting jointly. Foxhollow Development is not shown in the record before us as any of those. The clear, undisputed fact is that respondent received one check in the amount of $5,000 from Marvin Copple in 1978; received two checks in the total amount of $12,500 from Copple in 1979; and received two checks in the total amount of $20,000 from Copple in 1980. None of respondent's disclosure forms mention Marvin Copple. The legislative findings and intent in enacting the Nebraska Political Accountability and Disclosure Act, §§ 49-1401 et seq., are set out, in pertinent part, in § 49-1402 (Reissue 1978), as follows: (3) That it is essential to the proper operation of democratic government that public officials and employees be independent and impartial, that governmental decisions and policy be made in the proper channels of governmental structure, and that public office or employment not be used for private gain other than the compensation provided by law; and (4) That the attainment of one or more of these ends is impaired when there exists, or appears to exist, a substantial conflict between the private interests of a public official and his duties as such official; and that although the vast majority of public officials and employees are dedicated and serve with high integrity, the public interest requires that the law provide greater accountability, disclosure, and guidance with respect to the conduct of public officials and employees. Section 49-1496 requires that the filer under the act set out the name of the person from whom more than $1,000 was received. If a public official receives such sums, that official has the obligation to publicly set out, in an appropriate disclosure form, the name of the person from whom the public official has received the money and, therefore, to whom the public official might be beholden. Respondent chose not to do so, but instead to say he has received money from Foxhollow Development, an entity as to which he described, in his 1979 disclosure report, the nature of his association as [o]wner of certain lots. In 1979, the instructions in connection with the disclosure form stated: Item 6: ... Business Associations-Nature of Association: OWNER  applies to situations where the filer is the sole proprietor of a business. Under the column entitled `Names and Addresses of Places of Employment and Businesses,' the filer's name, trade name or name in which he did business should be used. We find that respondent has failed to report income from Marvin Copple as he was required to do by § 49-1496(2)(b). Instead, respondent created the impression that he was engaged in a business from which he received income, and in 1979 described himself as an ownerthat is, giving the impression that he was the proprietor of Fox Hollow Developments. Respondent did not disclose he was an employee of Marvin Copple. Respondent explained his failure to list Marvin Copple as a person from whom he received income, in the hearing before the Committee on Inquiry of the Second Disciplinary District, as follows; A I supposeFrom the questioning I'm getting, I suppose I should have listed M.E. Copple or Marvin Copple, 1200 Manchester Drive, Lincoln, Nebraska, real estate, and that would have solved all the problems. I started outI wrote down Fox Hollow development at that address and I just stayed there. I didn'tIt wasn't as a matter to conceal or hide anything. I suppose I justI listed Fox Hollow development and just stayed with Fox Hollow development. To this day, I don't find it that significant. It wasn't a matter of trying to conceal or hide anything. In our review, we determine that respondent's misrepresentation was significant and that respondent so conducted himself as to not truthfully answer the questions in the disclosure forms in order not to disclose his relationship to Marvin Copple. We find respondent guilty of the charges set out against him in count VI.