Opinion ID: 2379892
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 12

Heading: Clement Matter

Text: In November 1999, respondent filed on behalf of Mark Clement a federal civil rights and employment discrimination action against Public Service Electric and Gas Company, Inc. (PSE & G). The complaint alleged that Clement, a forklift operator at E.P. Henry Company, was subjected to racial discrimination by one of PSE & G's workers, who was on site at E.P. Henry. PSE & G's counsel moved to dismiss Clement's complaint because respondent failed to allege a necessary jurisdictional component for a Title VII claim [1] and because PSE & G was not a state actor for purposes of a Section 1983 claim. [2] The court ordered respondent to show cause why the complaint should not be dismissed and sanctions imposed for filing a frivolous action. Respondent then filed an amended complaint alleging essentially the same facts as those in the original pleading. The court dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim and imposed sanctions. The DRB determined that respondent had engaged in wishful thinking rather than sound advocacy, and that she had no reasonable basis to believe that Clement had a legally sufficient claim entitling him to relief. The DRB determined that respondent violated RPC 3.1 (filing frivolous lawsuit).
On August 24, 2004, four members of the DRB recommended that respondent be suspended for one year as a result of her violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct arising out of a complaint heard by the DEC. One other member favored an indeterminate suspension, while the three lay members voted for disbarment.