Opinion ID: 836274
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Omission of Pending Dismissal

Text: The Bar argues that it was a material misrepresentation by omission for the accused not to mention in his letter to Pacific that Wilkinson's bankruptcy action was about to be dismissed. As noted, material information is information that, if it had been known by the court or other decision-maker, would or could have influenced the decision-making process significantly. Gustafson, 327 Or. at 649, 968 P.2d 367. No representative of Pacific testified that that information would have changed Pacific's decision to release the funds to Wilkinson. Moreover, the Bar's own expert was equivocal about whether the omission was a material misrepresentation, although he opined that it would have been more accurate to disclose that the bankruptcy court orally had dismissed the case but that a written order had not yet been entered. We conclude that there was insufficient evidence of the materiality of this omission and that, under these circumstances, it was not highly probable that the accused made a material misrepresentation by omission.