Tenn. Lawyer Loses License for 4 Months Due to His Conduct in a Family Matrimonial Matter
Updated on 1/30/25: A Tennessee attorney has had his law license suspended for four months in a disciplinary matter related to a protective order obtained by his ex-wife.
Richard A. Demonbreun was found to have “violated disciplinary rules by violating an order of protection and submitting a false pleading to the court,” reports the Tennessean, relaying information from a press release today by the Board of Professional Responsibility.
His suspension takes effect Sept. 26.
Demonbreun contacted the ABA Journal on Jan. 30, 2025, to offer comment on the 2011 disciplinary charges.
“An ‘Order of Protection’ was obtained by [my ex-]wife after leaving to prevent me from recovering an expensive Old English Sheepdog I had purchased during the engagement,” Demonbreun wrote in an email to the Journal. “A kind, benign response to a text message sent by [my ex-]wife requesting financial support on a cell phone I provided for her use was deemed a ‘contact’ in violation of the Order.”
The false pleading referenced in the hearing panel notice was an “Agreed Petition to Modify Ex Parte Protective Order” that Demonbreun says he and his ex-wife signed in order to attend counseling together with the possibility of reconciliation. His ex-wife, Stacey Tompson, later denied signing the petition, and the hearing panel accepted her assertion.
“The Board [of Professional Responsibility] found that I had violated the Order and filed a ‘false pleading’ yet [my ex-]wife was shown to have voluntarily attended a counseling session with me,” Demonbreun told the Journal. “Ms. Tompson could not be cross-examined at the panel hearing due to her refusal to be served and required to appear. On appeal, the judge was bound under applicable law to affirm the panel’s findings of fact.”
In a review of the disciplinary judgment by the Chancery Court for Davidson County, Tennessee, which upheld the four-month suspension, Senior Judge Donald P. Harris wrote of the disputed signature, “While the court may have reached a different result … this court should not substitute its judgment for that of the panel as to the weight of the evidence on questions of fact.”
No further disciplinary actions are shown in Demonbreun’s record with the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility, and as of 2025, his status is that of an actively licensed attorney eligible to practice in the state.
This article was last updated on Jan. 30, 2025, to include comment from Demonbreun and details from the disciplinary records.
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