On Wednesday, October 9, 2024, the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department publicly censured attorney Erik W. Centner for misconduct.
The case is entitled “In the Matter of Erik W. Centner,” with case no. 2023-08633.
Centner was originally admitted to practice law in New York in 2003. He had also been admitted to practice in Arizona since 2019. In 2022, Centner reached an agreement with the State Bar of Arizona to accept an admonition for violating ethics rules regarding diligence with clients, communication with clients, and duties to former clients. This stemmed from Centner filing a lawsuit on behalf of one former client against another client without obtaining a conflict waiver.
Specifically, in 2019 Centner worked at a law firm representing a married couple, Joel and Pamela Cooper, who were injured in a car accident. In 2020, Joel changed attorneys while Centner continued representing Pamela. However, Centner then filed a lawsuit on behalf of Pamela against both the driver who injured them and Joel without obtaining a conflict waiver.
As a result of this conduct, the Supreme Court of Arizona issued an admonition against Centner in 2022. New York’s Appellate Division then initiated reciprocal discipline proceedings. Centner argued the misconduct did not occur in New York and would result in duplicate punishment. However, the court rejected these claims, as the rules violations in Arizona are comparable to New York’s rules.
In line with precedents to give substantial weight to the original punishment jurisdiction, the New York Appellate Division issued a public censure against Centner to match the admonition imposed in Arizona.
According to the filing, Mr. Centner acquired his law license in New York in 2003.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
