SC suspends Gadon over foul language
Published Oct 5, 2019 09:49 pm
By Jeffrey Damicog
Be careful with your language.
For using foul language against a female doctor and her lawyer, lawyer Lorenzo “Larry” Gadon was suspended by the Supreme Court for three months.
Atty. Larry Gadon (JANSEN ROMERO / MANILA BULLETIN)
“Every lawyer is required to act with courtesy at all times, even towards the adverse parties,” the SC ruled in its resolution dated June 26 but made available only recently.
The SC adopted the recommendation of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Board of Governors which conducted an investigation into the complaint filed by Dr. Helen Joselina H. Mendoza in August 2009.
“Atty. Gadon committed a breach of his oath as a lawyer. He is also guilty of culpable violation of the CPR (Code of Professional Responsibility), the code of ethics of the legal profession,” ruled the High tribunal.
“We find the penalty of suspension, considering the gravity and consequence of Atty. Gadon’s actions, to be the appropriate penalty in the instant case,” the SC stated.
With this, the high court ordered the three-month suspension of Gadon effective immediately upon the receipt of the resolution.
Meanwhile, Gadon, who was directed to report to the SC of his receipt of the resolution, was warned that “a repetition of the same or similar act in the future shall be dealt with more severely.
Mendoza is a dermatologist who holds a clinic at the Clinica Manila of the Ambulatory Health Care Institute, Inc. (AHCII), where Gadon was a corporate secretary and vice president at that time.
Due to a complaint from a patient, Mendoza got suspended unilaterally by Gadon from practice in 2009 at the Clinica Manila without authorization from the board of directors and without just cause.
When her suspension got lifted but at a reduced number of hours, Mendoza demanded the full restoration of her original clinic hours and threatened to file criminal civil actions if not met.
“Complainant asserted that in Atty. Gadon’s answer to her complaint, he had no qualms in using intemperate language. He was not only satisfied in maligning her in his letters but also used unbecoming statements that displayed a lack of courtesy and candor toward his professional colleagues,” the High Court cited the complaint of Mendoza.
In its ruling, the tribunal advised Gadon to be “more circumspect in his actions and should control himself better in times of emotional outbursts” and “refrain from using abusive and intemperate language which displays arrogance towards the legal system and his colleagues.”
“This duty is clearly imposed by the Rules of Court which mandates lawyers ‘ abstain from all offensive personality and to advance no fact or prejudicial to the honor or reputation of a party or witness, unless required by the justice of the cause with which he is charged’,” it cited.
The High Court also mentioned the Code of Professional Responsibility which states that “ lawyer shall not, in his professional dealings, use language which is abusive, offensive or otherwise improper.”
Gadon, who had tried to run for a Senate seat but lost, was the one who filed the impeachment complaint against ousted SC Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.
Atty. Larry Gadon (JANSEN ROMERO / MANILA BULLETIN)
“Every lawyer is required to act with courtesy at all times, even towards the adverse parties,” the SC ruled in its resolution dated June 26 but made available only recently.
The SC adopted the recommendation of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Board of Governors which conducted an investigation into the complaint filed by Dr. Helen Joselina H. Mendoza in August 2009.
“Atty. Gadon committed a breach of his oath as a lawyer. He is also guilty of culpable violation of the CPR (Code of Professional Responsibility), the code of ethics of the legal profession,” ruled the High tribunal.
“We find the penalty of suspension, considering the gravity and consequence of Atty. Gadon’s actions, to be the appropriate penalty in the instant case,” the SC stated.
With this, the high court ordered the three-month suspension of Gadon effective immediately upon the receipt of the resolution.
Meanwhile, Gadon, who was directed to report to the SC of his receipt of the resolution, was warned that “a repetition of the same or similar act in the future shall be dealt with more severely.
Mendoza is a dermatologist who holds a clinic at the Clinica Manila of the Ambulatory Health Care Institute, Inc. (AHCII), where Gadon was a corporate secretary and vice president at that time.
Due to a complaint from a patient, Mendoza got suspended unilaterally by Gadon from practice in 2009 at the Clinica Manila without authorization from the board of directors and without just cause.
When her suspension got lifted but at a reduced number of hours, Mendoza demanded the full restoration of her original clinic hours and threatened to file criminal civil actions if not met.
“Complainant asserted that in Atty. Gadon’s answer to her complaint, he had no qualms in using intemperate language. He was not only satisfied in maligning her in his letters but also used unbecoming statements that displayed a lack of courtesy and candor toward his professional colleagues,” the High Court cited the complaint of Mendoza.
In its ruling, the tribunal advised Gadon to be “more circumspect in his actions and should control himself better in times of emotional outbursts” and “refrain from using abusive and intemperate language which displays arrogance towards the legal system and his colleagues.”
“This duty is clearly imposed by the Rules of Court which mandates lawyers ‘ abstain from all offensive personality and to advance no fact or prejudicial to the honor or reputation of a party or witness, unless required by the justice of the cause with which he is charged’,” it cited.
The High Court also mentioned the Code of Professional Responsibility which states that “ lawyer shall not, in his professional dealings, use language which is abusive, offensive or otherwise improper.”
Gadon, who had tried to run for a Senate seat but lost, was the one who filed the impeachment complaint against ousted SC Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.