Discipline Notice - Julian J. Nuxoll

License Number: 3506
Member Name: Julian J. Nuxoll
Discipline Detail
Action: Reprimand
Effective Date: 12/1/1996
RPC: 1.1 - Competence
1.3 - Diligence
Discipline Notice:
Description: Bellevue lawyer Julian J. Nuxoll (WSBA No. 3506, admitted 1965) has been ordered reprimanded pursuant to a stipulation for discipline, approved by the Disciplinary Board in December 1996. The discipline is based upon his failure to determine the appropriate jurisdiction for a client's lawsuit and his failure to file the lawsuit within the applicable statute of limitations.
In July 1993, Nuxoll was retained by a client who wished to bring suit against a cruise ship line for an illness she believed resulted from food poisoning on a cruise ship the prior month. Nuxoll attempted to negotiate a settlement, but the cruise line believed that the illness was caused by a preexisting condition. The cruise line's highest settlement offer was $5,000.
Nuxoll told the client that the statute of limitations on her claim was three years based on his belief that the state superior court had jurisdiction over the matter. The client told Nuxoll that she was concerned because her contract with the cruise line said the statute of limitations was one year. Nuxoll did not believe this term in the contract could alter the state law statute of limitations.
On June 28, 1995, Nuxoll filed a lawsuit on the client’s behalf in King County Superior Court. The defendants successfully removed the matter to federal court on the grounds that the claims were preempted by federal admiralty law. The defendants then filed a motion to dismiss, alleging inter alia that the statute of limitations was the one year provided in the contract and that the lawsuit was not timely filed. The lawsuit was dismissed on March 1, 1996.
Nuxoll stipulated that by failing to determine the appropriate jurisdiction for the lawsuit and failing to file the lawsuit within the one-year statute of limitations, he violated Rules 1.1 (competence) and 1.3 (diligence) of the Rules of Professional Conduct. Nuxoll also agreed to pay his former client $5,000 in restitution, based on the defendant’s last settlement offer.
Respondent represented himself. The Bar Association was represented by Disciplinary Counsel Anne I. Seidel.


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