NEW ORLEANS (Louisiana Record) — Suspended Gretna attorney Juan Carlos Labadie has been disbarred following an Oct. 29 Louisiana Supreme Court attorney disciplinary proceeding over allegations that included false accusations against an incumbent judge he was trying to unseat in the 2014 elections.
The high court's decision followed formal professional misconduct charges filed by the office of disciplinary counsel, according to the 15-page attorney disciplinary proceeding.
"The record in this consolidated proceeding supports a finding that respondent neglected his clients' legal matters, failed to return unearned fees, made false statements regarding the integrity of a judge and committed multiple acts of domestic violence," the attorney disciplinary proceeding filing said.
Counts against Labadie included a complaint by 24th Judicial District Judge Michael P. Mentz, whom Labadie publicly accused of altering a court hearing transcript.
"This accusation was made public in news stories carried in both local newspapers," the attorney disciplinary proceeding said. "(Labadie) offered no proof of his own and an examination of the hearing tape proved the accusation to be false."
Mentz was re-elected in 2014 and his term expires next year.
The high court's attorney disciplinary proceeding also was over Labadie allegedly lying to a client he represented in a potential legal malpractice claim against her former attorneys in 2013, his refusal to issue a refund after missing a deadline to file a client's brief in a 2014 case and domestic violence complaints by Labadie's wife in 2005 and 2010 and his girlfriend in 2014.
"While it is unclear from the record whether he has ever been convicted of a criminal act, (Labadie) physically abused his former wife as well as his domestic partner," the attorney disciplinary proceeding said.
Labadie was admitted to the Louisiana bar April 19, 1996, according to his profile at the Louisiana State Bar Association's website.
Labadie has been on interim suspension since August 2016 following a state Supreme Court order issued that month for threat of harm.
In February, the Louisiana Supreme Court consolidated various allegations against Labadie and this past June, the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board recommended Labadie be disbarred.