People v. Kazazian.
No. 21PDJ031. 3/3/2023. Opinion Imposing Sanctions.
June 29, 2023
A hearing board disbarred Nina H. Kazazian (attorney registration number 21910). The disbarment was effective on May 24, 2023.
In 2016, Kazazian sued an accounting firm and the firm’s CEO, alleging they had breached a settlement agreement. Kazazian knew that her allegation was false, however, because she never accepted the opposing parties’ settlement offer. During the litigation, Kazazian twice threatened to report opposing counsel to disciplinary authorities if he did not agree to her demands regarding the litigation. She similarly threatened to grieve a nonparty to the case. Kazazian also telephoned the firm’s CEO to discuss settlement, even though Kazazian knew that the CEO was represented in the case. Litigation related to Kazazian’s frivolous claim was ongoing as of her disciplinary hearing, by which time the opposing parties had incurred more than $350,000 in attorney fees from the frivolous lawsuit.
Meanwhile, in 2018, Kazazian incorporated an entity under the exact name of the accounting firm after the firm filed articles of dissolution. In 2019, Kazazian sued the opposing counsel on behalf of the newly incorporated entity, asserting facts that were true as to the accounting firm but false as to Kazazian’s newly incorporated entity. She did not explain in the complaint that the plaintiff—her newly created entity—and the accounting firm it purported to be were different entities, with different origins and ownership structures. Kazazian moved to voluntarily dismiss the complaint only after the defendant’s response threatened to expose the sham.
Through this conduct, Kazazian violated Colo. RPC 3.1 (a lawyer must not assert frivolous claims); Colo. RPC 3.3(a)(1) (a lawyer must not knowingly make a false statement of material fact or law to a tribunal); Colo. RPC 4.2 (a lawyer must not communicate about the subject of a client representation with a person the lawyer knows to be represented by counsel in the matter); Colo. RPC 4.5(a) (a lawyer must not threaten criminal, administrative, or disciplinary charges to obtain an advantage in a civil matter); Colo. RPC 8.4(c) (it is professional misconduct for a lawyer to engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation); and Colo. RPC 8.4(d) (it is professional misconduct for a lawyer to engage in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice).