Mario Estuardo Diaz was admitted to the California Bar 21st December 1977, but has since been disbarred. Mario graduated from Santa Clara University SOL.
Lawyer Information
| Name | Mario Estuardo Diaz |
|---|---|
| First Admitted | 21 December 1977 (46 years, 4 months ago) |
| Status | Disbarred |
| Bar Number | 76235 |
Contact
| Phone Number | (213) 383-1226 |
|---|
Schools
| Law School | Santa Clara University SOL (Santa Clara CA) |
|---|---|
| Undergraduate School | University of Southern Calif (Los Angeles CA) |
Address
| Current Address | PO Box 3875 Laguna Hills, CA 92654-3875 |
|---|---|
| Map | |
| Previous Address | 3055 Wilshire Blvd #801 Los Angeles, CA 90010 |
History
| 18 June 2016 | Disbarred (7 years, 10 months ago) Disbarment 15-O-10060 |
|---|---|
| 18 January 2016 | Not eligible to practice law in CA (8 years, 3 months ago) Ordered inactive 15-O-10060 |
| 14 December 2015 | Disciplinary charges filed in State Bar Court 15-O-10060 (8 years, 4 months ago) |
| 9 July 2014 | Not eligible to practice law in CA (9 years, 9 months ago) Discipline w/actual suspension 11-O-16037 |
| 9 July 2012 | Disciplinary charges filed in State Bar Court 11-O-16037 (11 years, 9 months ago) |
| 21 December 1977 | Admitted to the State Bar of California (46 years, 4 months ago) |
Discipline Summaries
June 18, 2016 MARIO ESTUARDO DIAZ [#76235], 64, of Laguna Hills, was disbarred June 18, 2016 and ordered to comply with rule 9.20 of the California Rules of Court. In 2013, Diaz was hired to represent a widow in a wrongful death lawsuit concerning the death of her husband. Diaz brought in an attorney who specialized in catastrophic injury lawsuits. The case settled and the client was entitled to $420,300.44. The co-counsel issued six checks from his client trust account and gave them to Diaz to pass along to the client. Instead of turning over the money, Diaz deposited four of the checks in his client trust account. He asked a third attorney to deposit two of the checks in that attorney’s trust account, claiming he didn’t have his own, and to reimburse him.Diaz ultimately misappropriated $420,270.44 of the client’s settlement funds for his own purposes. After obtaining new counsel, the woman sued Diaz. As a result, he repaid the $420,300.44 plus an additional $115,000 and promised to deliver another $50,000 within two years. As a result of Diaz’s actions, the woman was deprived of her settlement funds for almost a year.Diaz had one prior record of discipline, a 2014 suspension for misappropriating more than $42,000 of his client’s funds and failing to maintain client funds in trust.July 9, 2014 MARIO ESTUARDO DIAZ [#76235], 62, of Los Angeles, was suspended for three years, stayed, placed on three years’ probation with a two-year actual suspension and until he shows proof of his rehabilitation. He was also ordered to take the MPRE and comply with rule 9.20 of the California Rules of Court. The order took effect June 9, 2014. A State Bar Court hearing judge found Diaz culpable of two of the four counts of misconduct he was charged with: failure to maintain client funds in trust and misappropriation involving moral turpitude due to his gross negligence in mismanaging his client trust account. State Bar prosecutors appealed the matter to the State Bar Court Review Department, asking that it find him culpable of all counts. The three-judge review panel adopted the hearing judge’s findings but also found aggravation for client harm, multiple acts of misconduct and uncharged misconduct.A sole practitioner, Diaz focused on complex personal injury cases, workers’ compensation and labor matters, primarily serving the Latino community in Los Angeles. In 2000, Diaz was hired to pursue personal injury and wrongful death claims arising from a crash caused by a city of Merced garbage truck. That October, the driver’s insurance carrier settled, agreeing to release $10,000 for a boy who survived the crash upon proof of court approval of the minor’s compromise. Diaz’s employee misfiled the letter from the insurance company and 11 years passed before Diaz noticed his mistake.In June 2011, Diaz filed a wrongful death and personal injury case against the California Department of Transportation, the city and county of Merced and the driver of the sanitation truck. As part of a settlement, Caltrans agreed to pay the plaintiffs $130,000. After he deducted his fee and costs, Diaz should have maintained $42,470.03 in his client trust account, but within two weeks, the balance had fallen to $36,663.11. The amount continued to dip and on June 15, 2006, well before Diaz distributed any of the settlement, his account balance fell to $76.41.Diaz admitted he was not controlling his trust account at the time, instead leaving the duty to his brother, who worked as his office administrator. Diaz made four distributions totaling $15,500 and distributed the remaining funds after a State Bar complaint was filed.In determining Diaz’s conduct warranted suspension rather than disbarment, the panel noted that Diaz’s misappropriation was neither intentional nor fraudulent and that he had remedied the causes of his misappropriation. The panel also noted his “lengthy and stellar career, impressive community service, outstanding character evidence, remorse and cooperation.†|