On Monday, December 9, 2024, the Board of Disciplinary Appeals appointed by the Supreme Court of Texas issued an Order to Show Cause regarding attorney Earl S. Nesbitt. This order follows a Petition for Reciprocal Discipline filed by the Commission for Lawyer Discipline on December 3, 2024. The petition stems from a reprimand received by Nesbitt from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas on August 30, 2024.
The case is entitled “In the Matter of Earl S. Nesbitt,” with case no. 70374.
The reprimand arose from a case, titled Vargas v. Panini America, Inc., where the court held a hearing on August 28, 2024. During this hearing, the court addressed significant misstatements of law and misrepresentations made by Nesbitt and his co-counsel in their response to a motion to dismiss. The court found that the attorneys had failed to accurately verify the legal precedents they cited, leading to errors that misrepresented case holdings and legal principles in at least ten instances.
The court’s examination revealed that Nesbitt, along with his colleagues, admitted to not reviewing the cited cases before submitting their response. Despite their explanations attributing the errors to a lack of familiarity and poor integration of work among the attorneys involved, the court deemed these justifications insufficient. The court specifically noted a concerning pattern of mistakes that suggested reliance on artificial intelligence tools in drafting the legal documents, which were not adequately reviewed.
As a result of these findings, the court set a hearing to address the issues, leading to the imposition of sanctions against Nesbitt and his fellow counsel. The court’s ruling called for a public reprimand, underscoring the seriousness of the attorneys’ failures to maintain the integrity of the judicial process.
In the Texas Board of Disciplinary Appeals’ Order to Show Cause, Nesbitt has been directed to explain why he should not face similar disciplinary action in Texas. The order emphasizes that failure to respond in a timely manner could limit his ability to present defenses during the hearing.
The hearing is scheduled for January 31, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. in the Supreme Court of Texas courtroom located in Austin. The Board will review the circumstances surrounding Nesbitt’s case, including the findings of the federal court and the implications of those findings on his ability to practice law in Texas.
According to avvo.com, Mr. Nesbitt is a business attorney in Addison, Texas. He acquired his law license in Texas in 1989.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
