Thomas Edward Johnston was first admitted to the California Bar 6th April 1960, but is now no longer eligible to practice. Thomas graduated from UCLA SOL.
Lawyer Information
| Name | Thomas Edward Johnston |
|---|---|
| First Admitted | 6 April 1960 (64 years, 7 months ago) |
| Status | Not Eligible to Practice |
| Bar Number | 30389 |
Schools
| Law School | UCLA SOL (Los Angeles CA) |
|---|---|
| Undergraduate School | University of California Berkeley (Berkeley CA) |
Address
| Current Address | 18001 Cowan #C-D Irvine, CA 92614 |
|---|---|
| Map |
History
| 27 September 1999 | Not Eligible To Practice Law in CA (25 years, 1 month ago) |
|---|---|
| 1 January 1993 | Inactive (31 years, 10 months ago) |
| 6 May 1985 | Active (39 years, 6 months ago) |
| 1 January 1983 | Inactive (41 years, 10 months ago) |
| 3 August 1981 | Active (43 years, 3 months ago) |
| 1 January 1981 | Inactive (43 years, 10 months ago) |
| 6 April 1960 | Admitted to The State Bar of California (64 years, 7 months ago) |
Discipline Summaries
November 9, 2001 THOMAS EDWARD JOHNSTON [#30389], 69, of Newport Beach was suspended for three years, stayed, placed on four years of probation with an actual two-year suspension, and was ordered to prove his rehabilitation, make restitution, take the MPRE and comply with rule 955. The order took effect Nov. 9, 2001. Johnston stipulated that he breached his fiduciary duties in a general partnership by making misrepresentations, failing to disclose material facts, signing a partner’s name to a document without his knowledge and misappropriating partnership funds, acts which amounted to moral turpitude.In 1977, Johnston’s wholly owned corporation became a general partner with a limited partnership created to develop and sell 1,770 acres in Orange County. A year later, the partnership acquired two new general partners and Johnston’s company and another became limited partners.The partnership included a golf course and in 1988, negotiations began to sell the course at a substantial profit. However, one of the general partners was not informed about the negotiations or about subsequent business dealings.A new entity was created in which Johnston was a general partner. As a fiduciary, he was required to avoid making false representations, to disclose material facts about the golf course and to maintain partnership assets and funds.He convinced one of the general partners to enter into a series of agreements without giving him complete information. When the golf course was sold, Johnston did not tell the general partner, although he was a shareholder, nor did he distri-bute the cash proceeds to him, as required by the partnership agreement.The general partner sued Johnston for fraud and deceit, intentional misrepresentation and fraudulent concealment. Johnston then changed the partnership agreement without the general partner’s knowledge.The court ordered Johnston and other defendants to pay the general partner nearly $479,000, plus $284,338 in interest, for fraud while acting in a fiduciary capacity. In addition, Johnston was ordered to pay more than $500,000 in attorney fees.Johnston has not paid the judgment or the fees.In mitigation, his wife passed away in 1990. Johnston does not practice law and intends to continue to pursue a career as a developer. |