Dennis W. Montoya
Dennis W. Montoya engaged in fraud, deceit and lies and ‘displayed a selfish and dishonest motive’ in how he represented clients in wrongful death lawsuit, disciplinary board charging document alleges
The New Mexico Supreme Court’s disciplinary board has accused Court of Appeals candidate Dennis W. Montoya of misconduct including fraud, deceit, lying to the court, having a conflict of interest, failing to adequately represent a client and failing to adequately account for and distinguish client funds from his own.
The charges are serious. In addition to being potentially damaging to his campaign for judge, they could threaten his future as an attorney. And, were the Supreme Court to take the extreme step of stripping him of his law license, Montoya would no longer be eligible to run for judge.
Montoya provided only one statement in response to the allegations.
“These charges will be vigorously defended against,” he wrote in an e-mail. He referred all other questions to his lawyer, who could not immediately be reached for comment.
The charges were filed late last month and made public Tuesday. The charging document, which lays out the allegations against Montoya, is signed by Sally Scott-Mullins, the disciplinary board’s deputy chief counsel.
Charges stem from wrongful-death case
The charges stem from a 2008 complaint against Montoya filed by Appeals Court Judge Linda Vanzi, and relate to a case Vanzi heard when she was a district judge in Albuquerque. Montoya was one of the lawyers working on that case.
Montoya is now running against Vanzi in the June 1 Democratic primary.
The case in question followed the 2002 automobile accident death of Cody Utley, an oil rig worker in the Four Corners area. Montoya represented Utley’s girlfriend, their son and the girlfriend’s daughter from another relationship, according to the Albuquerque Journal.
Vanzi, who oversaw a settlement between Utley’s family members and the manufacturer of the tires on Utley’s vehicle, appointed a guardian for Utley’s son after questions arose about who was Utley’s legal heir, the Journal reported.
Montoya ultimately settled claims in the wrongful-death lawsuit without ensuring that money was set aside for Utley’s son.
The charges
Among the charges brought by the disciplinary board are that Montoya lied to Probate and Worker’s Compensation courts in claiming that Utley and his girlfriend were married and that the girlfriend’s daughter was also Utley’s daughter; that he lied to the guardian Vanzi appointed to represent Utley’s son; that, in representing both Utley’s girlfriend and their son, he had a conflict of interest; and that he failed to account for and safeguard clients’ money.
The charging document accuses Montoya of “fraud, deceit, dishonesty, misrepresentation” and “engaging in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice.”
Montoya’s conduct in the case “displayed a selfish and dishonest motive,” the charging document states. He “engaged in a pattern of misconduct” and “committed multiple disciplinary violations.” In addition, the document states, Montoya “has refused to acknowledge the wrongful nature of his misconduct.”
Vanzi said in a statement released by her campaign that she is “pleased that the disciplinary board took this matter seriously.”
“It’s so important that attorneys are held to an ethical standard because people seek the services of attorneys at some of the most vulnerable times in their lives,” Vanzi said. “We serve the people of New Mexico and have an obligation to do so with integrity and honesty.”
Now that charges have been brought, Montoya has 20 days to respond. Then, the disciplinary board will decide what sanctions to ask the Supreme Court to approve.
Public financing appeal to be heard Thursday
The charges before the disciplinary board aren’t the only trouble that could affect Montoya’s judicial campaign. In March, the secretary of state rejected Montoya’s application for public financing, saying he exceeded the $5,000 limit on what publicly financed candidates can contribute to their own campaigns. Montoya appealed, and his case will be heard Thursday in district court.
You can read Montoya’s petition in that case here.