Disbarred lawyer who failed to pay over $5.5 million in property sale loses appeal

Disbarred lawyer Richard Bonner, who was punished for failing to pay over more than $5 million in the sale of a house, has lost his bid to have the sanction against him overturned in the Court of Appeal.

Last week, the top court dismissed his appeal and affirmed the decisions of the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council (GLC). He was found guilty of professional misconduct and later struck off the list of attorneys allowed to practice in Jamaica. 

The GLC, which regulates the legal profession here, made the rulings in April and June of 2017.

Bonner appealed the decisions, claiming that he did not receive a fair hearing and that various incorrect findings of fact had been made.

He also contended that the sanctions imposed were manifestly harsh and excessive.

But the Court of Appeal said his arguments had no merit.  

The three-judge panel said Bonner received "a fair and just hearing and that his requests for adjournments were fairly considered" and that the disciplinary committee "may have, in fact, been overly generous in granting some of his requests".  

"There was no evidence to support the allegations Bonner had made impugning the integrity of a committee member. The evidence overwhelmingly supports the committee's finding that Bonner was guilty of professional misconduct. As the professional misconduct related to an act of egregious dishonesty, the sanctions imposed on Bonner were adequate, proportionate and could not be said to be manifestly harsh and excessive," said Justice Paulette Williams who wrote the unanimous decision. 

The other two judges were Justices David Fraser and Georgianna Fraser, who was acting as an appeal court judge at the time the matter was heard in May 2022.

Bonner was found guilty on April 28, 2017 after a long-delayed trial before a three-member disciplinary panel that comprised Peter Champagnie, Tana'ania Small Davis and John Graham, all King's Counsel.

Bonner was retained in 2007 to sell a house located in Havendale, St Andrew. He was hired by Michael Gibson on behalf of his siblings to administer the estate of their late mother. 

The house was sold in 2007 for $11.1 million, but Bonner only paid over 50 per cent of the proceeds from the sale after expenses were taken out. The remaining $5.5 million was not paid up to when Michael's sister Dr Opal Gibson-Corbin made the complaint to the GLC in June 2014. The funds are still outstanding. 

The GLC also accepted a statement of account from Bonner in which he admitted in October 2013 that he owed the money to the siblings. 

The first hearing was held in February 2015 and after numerous hearings the decision came two years later. Bonner only attended one hearing. He indicated on several occasions that he was either unwell or had surgery. 

The Court of Appeal accepted that he was kept abreast of the case and given multiple opportunities to present his case. 

It also dismissed his claim that he was owed $10 million for various services performed for the Gibsons in transactions unrelated to the sale of the Havendale property. 

"Significantly, when Bonner had the opportunity to cross-examine Dr Gibson-Corbin and Mr Gibson, he did not challenge them on much of their evidence, the most relevant being that they were owed $5,509,535.00; or that he had failed to account to them for the balance. He did not even suggest to the witnesses that they owed him $10,228,153.00," the court said. 

Bonner was a close friend of the Gibson family for over 50 years, a point the court used to bolster its view that Bonner's conduct "exemplifies an egregious breach of trust and professional misconduct".

"Given the manner of his dishonesty, the sanction imposed was necessary in the public interest and cannot be said to be excessive or disproportionate," Justice Williams said. 

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