High court puts two local lawyers on probation

The Louisiana Supreme Court this week gave probation to two New Iberia lawyers of David Groner’s law firm.

Two former clients alleged they were misrepresented by Groner and April Petry Defelice in a car accident lawsuit, according to documents from the Supreme Court. The documents do not state when the incident happened.

Groner received a fully deferred six-month suspension. That means he can practice law while completing a one-year supervised probation period. He also has to successfully complete the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Ethics School, according to the documents.

Groner said he did not represent the clients, Antoinette Mason and her grandson Jermaine Mason of St. Martinville, but took responsibility because he owns the law firm.

“I agreed with the filings because this was all based on a very technical error,” said Groner.

“It had to do with paperwork errors. I want to accept responsibility and put it behind me.”

Defelice received a fully deferred 90-day suspension, according to the documents. She too can continue to practice law while serving a one-year supervised probation period. She was not available for comment.

According to the documents, Defelice filed suit in Iberia Parish on behalf of the Masons two days before the one-year anniversary of the wreck. It should have been filed in St. Martin Parish. Defelice later filed a new lawsuit in St. Martin Parish, but defense lawyers, who had not been served with the lawsuit until several weeks after the deadline to file it, had the case moved to federal court and dismissed because it was filed too late.

Groner said that Defelice explained to the Masons that it wasn’t a case worth pursuing. The documents state that Groner’s firm issued a $1,000 check to Antoinette Mason and a $500 check to Jermaine Mason and the Masons signed a “release agreement,” which released Groner’s firm from any present or future claims and released the defendants in the underlying wreck.

After the payments were issued, the documents state that one of the treating physicians, Dr. Adel Malahmeh, contacted Antoinette Mason regarding outstanding charges for their treatment totaling nearly $10,000.  When she told him the case was settled, the doctor filed suit against her.  

Groner said the doctor is a chiropractor who had billed the Masons with enormous charges.

“Rather than have the client exposed to that, I paid that bill,” Groner said “I didn’t have to, but I did.”

The Masons then filed a complaint with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, stating they were not told about the lawsuit being filed in the wrong parish and subsequently being filed too late, according to the documents. They also claimed they believed the release they signed was a settlement to their case.