An attorney who's faced discipline for sending allegedly abusive letters making demands under the Americans with Disabilities Act is facing new charges for the same conduct. He is among at least half a dozen lawyers in the hot seat for alleged ethics violations.

Attorney Omar Weaver Rosales' name circulated in Texas legal circles during the last legislative session, after he won a key appellate court ruling in his past case dealing with ADA letters. That ruling motivated lawmakers to exclude lawyer-discipline cases from the Texas Citizens Participation Act, the state's anti-SLAPP law, among other changes to narrow the law.

But now Rosales, a Brownsville lawyer, faces a new case in which a California attorney associated with a pizza restaurant filed a grievance about an ADA letter. She said that Rosales sent her a letter that said the restaurant's parking lot didn't comply with the ADA, according to the original petition in Commission for Lawyer Discipline v. Rosales. The California attorney replied that the business was in the process of fixing the ADA issues, but in later correspondence, Rosales demanded $12,000.

Rosales filed his own grievance in September 2018 against the California lawyer with the State Bar of California. But that grievance contained misrepresentations about the California lawyer, the Commission for Lawyer Discipline alleged.

The commission charged that about a month later, in October 2018, Rosales filed a federal lawsuit that also made misrepresentations against the pizza restaurant. It alleged that Rosales violated a rule that prohibits an attorney from engaging in dishonest, fraudulent, deceitful or misrepresentative conduct.

His attorney, Gaines West of College Station, didn't return a call seeking comment before deadline.

Now the litigation will proceed through the district court.

Here's a rundown of other Texas counsel facing ethics charges.

Philip Martin Ross

San Antonio lawyer Philip Martin Ross represented a woman who didn't have the capacity to execute legal documents, according the petition in Commission for Lawyer Discipline v. Ross.

Nevertheless, Ross had the woman execute an employment contract with him, sign a deed conveying real estate to him as trustee, and create a document setting up an irrevocable trust that transferred nearly all her assets to him, the commission charged.

Ross took $25,000 from the client's assets for his legal expenses, according to the petition against him.

The commission argued a court found that Ross lacked authority to represent the woman because of her incapacity. But it claimed that even after that finding, Ross kept executing documents conveying the woman's assets and acting as owner of these assets.

Ross, however, vehemently denies the allegations, and plans to fight the lawsuit as it goes through district court. He said he worked with his client and the client's daughter on an estate plan, and the client's older two children, who opposed the plan, are the ones who filed a grievance against him.

"I'm really surprised the Texas Bar Association would even pursue them,"  Ross said.

Photo: ElenaR/Shutterstock.com

Christopher James Norman

Christopher James Norman of Killeen, who didn't return a call seeking comment before deadline, contacted Prime Case Funding, saying that one of his personal-injury clients needed a cash advance on a settlement, according to the petition against him.

To secure funds, Norman gave the litigation lender phony documents, according to court documents.

But the "client" later told the lending company that there was no car accident and he wasn't seeking funding, according to the petition.

Norman has faced three other attorney-discipline complaints by other clients for misconduct dealing with mishandling funds. The Texas Supreme Court on Oct. 1 accepted his resignation in lieu of discipline, which has the same legal effect as disbarment.

Photo: Tero Vesalainen/Shutterstock.com

Richard Lee King

Harker Heights attorney Richard Lee King, who didn't return a call seeking comment before deadline, was representing an ex-husband in a matter in which the ex-wife was pro se. In a phone call with the ex-wife, King allegedly said the woman was an idiot, and threatened to ruin her credit and have a warrant issued for arrest, according to the petition in Commission for Lawyer Discipline v. King.

King continued to harass the woman via text messages, according to the commission, which alleged he violated a rule that prohibits an attorney from representing a client in a way that's meant to embarrass, delay or burden a third party.

Omar Maynez-Grijalva

El Paso attorney Omar Maynez-Grijalva faces two complaints from his former personal-injury clients.

The petition in Commission for Lawyer Discipline v. Maynez-Grijalva alleged the attorney mishandled the clients' settlement funds. It claims that in one of the cases, the attorney gave the insurance company a settlement release that supposedly had the client's signature, even though the client was dead.

Maynez-Grijalva didn't return a call seeking comment before deadline.

Melynda G. Pearson

Texarkana solo practitioner Melynda G. Pearson resigned her law license, rather than facing 14 grievances from clients.

The Supreme Court, which accepted her resignation on Oct. 1, ordered Pearson to pay her clients $28,751 in restitution. Court documents show that many of the complaints said that Pearson neglected her clients' legal matters by failing to file court documents or appear for hearing.

One complaint said Pearson forged her client's signature on a court document. That document allegedly granted the client's child's custody to the client's mother without permission. Other complaints said Pearson kept client funds in her trust account, but refused to return the full amount when clients asked for their money back.

But Pearson suggests a medical problem helped lead to her resignation. She said a head injury five years ago, and more recent health problems, have impacted her ability to practice law, leading to the grievances.

"It just went crazy, and I couldn't take the pressure anymore, with my illness," she said about her resignation. "It was a very painful decision."