Decision record
W. Anthony Pearson
Allegation / charges
Fined | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered June 04, 2021. || Guilty of Misconduct in a Professional Respect | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered April 24, 2021. View PDF FORMAL ORDER OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL COMPLAINT …
Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision
The Respondent, acting for the vendor's side and as Executor of the deceased registered proprietor's estate, had carriage of sale and possession of the property title. After a 1998 Consent Order granting specific performance and the Complainant paying the balance purchase price in 1999, the title was never transferred to the Complainant. The Respondent failed to account for the title, claiming to have returned it. The Committee found him guilty of professional misconduct in breach of Canon IV(s) and Canon I(b), and ordered a fine of J$500,000 plus costs of J$290,000. No express finding of dishonesty was made.
Duties found breached:
Aggravating factors:
- Respondent is a senior attorney who should have known the steps required before parting with possession of the title
- As Executor of the estate and party to court proceedings he was ordered to deliver a registrable transfer along with the title
Mitigating factors:
- Acted in the transaction on behalf of an in-law (brother-in-law) and the relationship had broken down
Duties engaged
Other decisions involving this respondent
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