On Tuesday, January 24, 2023, the Supreme Court of New Jersey ordered the censure of Haddonfield attorney David Ryan Nussey for misconduct.

The case is styled ‘In the Matter of David Ryan Nussey’ with case no. DRB 21-245.

The charges cited RPC 1.4(b) and 8.1(b) of the Rules of Professional Conduct.

The New Jersey Rules of Professional Conduct can be found here.

The disciplinary matter involves allegations that Nussey engaged in misconduct through his repeated failure to provide an invoice despite numerous requests by his client. He was further alleged to have failed to reply to the ethics grievance.

The filing states:

“The retainer agreement provided that “[t]he Law Firm will send you itemized bills no less frequently than once every one-hundred-and-twenty days. However, upon request your bill may be sent to you within a seventy-two hour time frame.” However, Sweeney testified that she never received a single invoice from respondent, despite the language of the retainer agreement and her numerous requests. Instead, Sweeney claimed that she made twenty-two requests for an itemized bill and that respondent failed to provide the requested invoice.”

The filing continues:

“Moreover, respondent did not deny that he had failed to provide Sweeney with an invoice; indeed, he testified that he was unsure why an invoice was not sent to her. He acknowledged that Sweeney made numerous requests for an invoice but was unable to produce proof that Sweeney was provided same. Respondent testified that he had approved Sweeney’s bill, his assistant handled billing, and that he had assumed that Sweeney’s bill was sent; however, he also acknowledged that nothing had prevented him from directly providing Sweeney with an invoice.”

The District Ethics Committee (DEC) recommended the censure of Nussey.

On review, the Disciplinary Review Board concluded that the DEC’s findings that Nussey’s conduct was unethical and supported by clear and convincing evidence, and recommended to the Court that censure is the appropriate discipline for Nussey’s misconduct.

With the foregoing facts and discussions, the court ruled against Nussey in relation to the above-cited Rules of Professional Conduct.

The Disposition reads:

“It is ORDERED that David Ryan Nussey is hereby censured; and it is further

ORDERED that the entire record of this matter be made a permanent part of respondent’s file as an attorney at law of this State; and it is further

ORDERED that respondent reimburse the Disciplinary Oversight Committee for appropriate administrative costs and actual expenses incurred in the prosecution of this matter, as provided in Rule 1:20-17.”

As of today, Mr. Nussey practices in Haddonfield, New Jersey. He is listed in Klineburger & Nussey as a partner. He has been licensed in New Jersey, license no. 026021999, as well as in Pennsylvania. Nussey graduated from the Widener University School of Law in 1999. His info can be found on Avvo.

A copy of the original filing can be found here.