Case Title: Disciplinary Counsel v. Weiss

Citation: 2013-Ohio-4748

Docket Number: 2012-0314

State: ohio

Court: Ohio Supreme Court

Date: 2013-10-31T00:00:00Z

Document:
[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it may be cited as 
Disciplinary Counsel v. Weiss, Slip Opinion No. 2013-Ohio-4748.] 
 
NOTICE 
This slip opinion is subject to formal revision before it is published in 
an advance sheet of the Ohio Official Reports.  Readers are requested 
to promptly notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of Ohio, 
65 South Front Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215, of any typographical or 
other formal errors in the opinion, in order that corrections may be 
made before the opinion is published. 
 
SLIP OPINION NO. 2013-OHIO-4748 
DISCIPLINARY COUNSEL v. WEISS. 
[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it 
may be cited as Disciplinary Counsel v. Weiss,  
Slip Opinion No. 2013-Ohio-4748.] 
Attorney discipline—Allocation of previously ordered restitution. 
(No. 2012-0314—Submitted June 5, 2013—Decided October 31, 2013.) 
ON CERTIFIED REPORT by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and 
Discipline of the Supreme Court, No. 11-090. 
_______________________ 
Per Curiam. 
{¶ 1} This matter is currently before the court after a remand to the Board of 
Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline for the sole purpose of determining 
who is entitled to receive the restitution that we ordered respondent, Stephen 
Michael Weiss, to make in Disciplinary Counsel v. Weiss, 133 Ohio St.3d 236, 
2012-Ohio-4564, 977 N.E.2d 636 (“Weiss I”), reconsideration granted in part in 
Disciplinary Counsel v. Weiss, 133 Ohio St.3d 1501, 2012-Ohio-5693, 979 
N.E.2d 347 (“Weiss II”).  The board recommends that the restitution be paid as 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
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follows: $18,000 to Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield and $18,333.93 to John 
Lilley.  We adopt the board’s recommendation. 
Procedural History 
{¶ 2} Weiss, formerly of Columbus, Ohio, Attorney Registration No. 
0017566, was admitted to the practice of law in Ohio in 1968.  His license was 
registered as inactive effective September 1, 2009. 
{¶ 3} In October 2011, relator, disciplinary counsel, charged Weiss with 
misconduct arising from his representation of John Lilley in a personal-injury 
matter and his failure to cooperate in the ensuing disciplinary investigation. We 
granted relator’s default motion on October 9, 2012, found that Weiss committed 
the charged misconduct, and ordered him to pay Lilley $36,333.93 in restitution.  
Weiss I. 
{¶ 4} Weiss moved this court to reconsider its judgment in October 2012, 
asserting that Lilley was not entitled to the full amount of restitution ordered 
because Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield had a pending subrogation claim.  We 
granted his motion in December and remanded the matter to the board to 
determine the proper allocation of the restitution due, Weiss II, and we ordered 
Weiss to forward the full restitution of $36,333.93 to Lilley’s current attorney 
Gregory P. Barwell, to hold in escrow pending the outcome of the remand. 
{¶ 5} The parties submitted stipulations to the board indicating that Weiss had 
only $30,296.97 in his client trust account and stating that Barwell had negotiated 
Anthem’s original subrogation interest of $32,040.60 down to $18,000.  At the 
conclusion of this matter, Barwell will forward $18,000 to Anthem and return the 
remainder of the funds held in escrow—$12,296.97—less his attorney fees to 
Lilley. 
{¶ 6} The board now has adopted the parties’ stipulations regarding the 
distribution of the $30,296.97 currently held by Barwell and recommends that 
Weiss should be ordered to make restitution of $6,036.96 to Lilley, which will 
January Term, 2013 
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result in a total restitution award of $36,333.93 in accordance with our October 9, 
2012 order.  The parties and the board recognize, however, that Weiss will be 
unable to make the recommended restitution due to his current financial 
circumstances.  Therefore, they anticipate that Lilley will file a claim with the 
Clients’ Security Fund. 
{¶ 7} In addition to the order of restitution, the board recommends that we tax 
the costs of these proceedings to Weiss and make the payment of restitution to 
Lilley or the reimbursement of the Clients’ Security Fund a condition of his 
reinstatement to the practice of law. 
{¶ 8} Based on the evidence submitted, we adopt the board’s recommendation 
with the understanding that $18,000 of the settlement funds currently held in 
escrow by attorney Gregory Paul Barwell will be distributed to Anthem Blue 
Cross/Blue Shield and $12,296.97 (less attorney fees) will be distributed to Lilley, 
and we order Weiss to pay an additional $6,036.96 in restitution to Lilley.  
Payment of the full amount of restitution or reimbursement to the Clients’ 
Security Fund for the full amount of all claims paid to Lilley is a condition of any 
future reinstatement.  Costs are taxed to Weiss. 
Judgment accordingly. 
O’CONNOR, C.J., and PFEIFER, O’DONNELL, LANZINGER, KENNEDY, 
FRENCH, and O’NEILL, JJ., concur. 
_________________________ 
Jonathan E. Coughlan, Disciplinary Counsel, and Karen H. Osmond, 
Assistant Disciplinary Counsel, for relator. 
Stephen Michael Weiss, pro se. 
_________________________