On Thursday, September 8, 2022, the Supreme Court of Ohio opined on charges for attorney discipline against Westlake attorney Robert Edward Fitz relating to his conviction to a fourth-degree felony.
The case, titled Disciplinary Counsel v. Fitz, was brought by the Disciplinary Counsel. Case #2022-0363.
The charges cited Fitz’s violation of Rule 8.4(b) and 8.4(c) of the Rules of Professional Conduct.
According to the filing:
“In June 2019, Fitz was charged in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas with three counts of workers’ compensation fraud under R.C 913.48(A)(7), a fourth-degree felony. Each count alleged that Fitz had committed the offense during separate payroll periods between 2017 and 2019. In September 2019, Fitz entered a guilty plea to Count1, which alleged that he had failed to secure or maintain workers’ compensation coverage from March 17 to June 30, 2017. The state dismissed the other two counts.”
On December 20, 2019, the Court suspended Fitz’s license on an interim basis after receiving notice that Fitz had been convicted of worker’s compensation fraud.
In August 2020, disciplinary counsel charged Fitz with violating the Rules of Professional Conduct based on the facts that led to his felony conviction. The disciplinary matter stayed until the completion of Fitz’s criminal appeal.
The filing continues:
“The court sentenced Fitz to five years of community control and ordered him topay$965,235 in restitution through a payment plan established by the court’s probation department. Fitz appealed the restitution amount, but the court of appeals affirmed the trial court’s judgment. Between December 2019 and February 2022 when the parties entered into their stipulations, Fitz paid $250 each month toward the restitution order. As of February 2022, he still owed $958,485.”
In February 2o22, Fitz and the Disciplinary Counsel entered into a comprehensive set of stipulations in which Fitz admitted to the charged misconduct. However, they could not agree on the recommended sanction.
The hearing panel of the Board of Professional Conduct, after its hearing, issued a report finding that Fitz had engaged in the stipulated misconduct and recommended that the Court suspend his license for two years, with no credit for the time he has served under his interim felony suspension. His future reinstatement is subject to his submission of proof that he has made substantial and continuing efforts to pay the restitution ordered in his criminal sentence. Neither party has objected to the Board’s report.
Accordingly, the Court, having considered Fitz’s misconduct, the relevant aggravating and mitigating factors, and the applicable precedent, agreed with the board’s recommended sanction.
The dispositive portion of the Slip Opinion reads:
“Robert Edward Fitz is hereby suspended from the practice of law in the state of Ohio for two years, with no credit for the time he has served under his interim felony suspension imposed on December 20, 2019. In addition to meeting the requirements of Gov.Bar R. V(24), Fitz’s reinstatement shall be conditioned on his providing proof of his substantial, continuing efforts to pay the restitution ordered as part of his criminal sentence. Costs are taxed to Fitz.”
According to Avvo, Mr. Fitz practices in Westlake, Ohio and he has been licensed in Ohio, license #0024277.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
