North Carolina Lawyer Sanctioned in ‘Startling’ Email Misconduct

A board member of a real estate investors’ networking association, who is also a licensed attorney in North Carolina, made up emails in a suit over its assets, an instance of “startling misconduct” that warrants informing the jury and referral to the bar, a trial court in the state ruled.

Kathie Russell must also pay her opponent’s attorneys’ fees for the sanctions request, as well as the cost of their forensic computer expert’s services, Judge Julianna Theall Earp said Wednesday for North Carolina Superior Court.

“Falsification of evidence is an intolerable and insidious offense that is difficult to uncover,” Earp ...