HOUSTON -- A dumpster was the last place that deputy Sgt. Gary Rogers wanted to be Monday night. It was also the last place you would expect to see boxes of personal financial information.

"We got a call on a case of sensitive documents in this dumpster. Anywhere from 20 to 30 boxes of documents in there. Some include very personal information that somebody may be able to use for identity theft,” Rogers said Monday night.

They appear to be case files from the Weber Law Firm and attorney William Weber. The files are from hundreds of cases of bankruptcy and include names, addresses, Social Security numbers and even financial account information.

When deputies contacted Weber, the attorney reportedly told them it wasn't a big deal.

“It absolutely is a big deal. This could be numerous cases of identity theft here just waiting to happen,” Rogers said.

But Weber had a different answer for 11 News when he showed up to retrieve the 32 boxes.

“It's a mistake,” he said. "We regret it. We regret it. They weren't intended to be put here. I didn't put them here. It was a misunderstanding between me and my wife."

He added it was a one-time problem.

But he also said his firm does not have a policy for disposing of sensitive documents.

“No, I do not. I don't think there is a formal disposal policy. Legally,” he answered.

Don't tell that to Radio Shack or Select Medical Corporation. Both settled lawsuits with the Texas Attorney General's Office this week for violating the Texas ID Theft Law that was passed in 2005.

It requires businesses to destroy any documents that contain sensitive information. Select Medical dumped 4,000 documents in its own dumpster, but did not destroy them first.

Both companies settled this week with the state for hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.

However, it's not just a civil law question. It is also an ethics question.

“If a customer of Radio Shack had an interest in privacy and an interest to have their identity protected (and) not just tossed to the wind, I can assure you that a medical provider or a lawyer has a higher duty,” said 11 News legal expert Gerald Treece.

Weber took the documents back and loaded them up for a trip home.

11 News: Since they got here once before, can we be assured that they are going to be disposed of properly?

“Yes. Yes,” said Weber.

11 News: What assurance do we have of that other than your word?

“That's it. That's all you can get,” said Weber. In a follow-up interview by phone on Wednesday, Weber told 11 News that all the documents were shredded on Wednesday morning.

Weber also said he has talked with an attorney at the attorney general's office and told them he would cooperate fully.

11 News also spoke with one of the clients whose file was found in the dumpster on Monday. She said she's angry and feels betrayed.