These past few weeks I have been inundated with depositions in several real estate lawsuits.
Whenever I prepare my clients for depositions I always emphasize the overarching rule when being deposed:
tell the truth.
There can be serious consequences for giving false statements under oath.
Under Michigan Law, MCL § 750.423 perjury is a felony.
A felony is a serious deal!
Apparently A former chief of the real estate investment and capitalization practice at Troutman Sanders took lightly to the oath to tell the truth he gave while testifying at a deposition.
The ABA Journal reports the story here:
The testimony concerned a complex real estate litigation involving a real estate mogul Ruby Schron, and a $1.3 billion leverage buyout in 2004 of nursing home operator Mariner Health Services, the article explains.
In a statement made before a court on Wednesday, the former chief of real estate stated : “On January 25, 2011 I testified at a deposition in the civil matters at a law office in Manhattan. Prior to giving my testimony, I affirmed before a notary public that I would testify truthfully. During the deposition, however, I intentionally made a false statement that I did not believe to be true” . “I testified at that deposition that, in the summer of 2009, I told [an associate] that the $100 million loan had not been funded, a relevant fact, when in truth I did not have that conversation.
The District Attorney’s Office for Manhattan provided more details: http://www.manhattanda.org/press-release/da-vance-former-attorney-and-law-firm-partner-convicted-perjury-false-testimony-during
This former chief of real estate practice (and also a former attorney) received a misdemeanor conviction, fine, and 150 hours of community service.
email: Jeshua@dwlawpc.com
Purpose Driven General Counsel 