Case Title: Miami Cty. Bar Assn. v. Hallows

Citation: 1997-Ohio-237

Docket Number: 19962429

State: ohio

Court: Ohio Supreme Court

Date: 1997-03-26T00:00:00Z

Document:
Miami County Bar Association v. Hallows. 
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[Cite as Miami Cty. Bar Assn. v. Hallows (1997), _____Ohio St.3d 
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______.] 
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Attorneys at law -- Misconduct -- Indefinite suspension -- Failing to 
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preserve identity of funds and property of client -- Failing to 
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promptly pay or deliver client’s funds or properties -- 
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Neglecting an entrusted legal matter -- Engaging in conduct 
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involving moral turpitude -- Engaging in conduct involving 
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dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation -- Conduct 
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prejudicial to the administration of justice. 
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(No. 96-2429 -- Submitted December 11, 1996 -- Decided March 26, 
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1997.) 
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ON CERTIFIED REPORT by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances 
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and Discipline of the Supreme Court, No. 95-79. 
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In a complaint filed on October 10, 1995, relator, Miami County Bar 
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Association, charged respondent, L. Craig Hallows of Piqua, Ohio, Attorney 
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Registration No. 0031350, with violations of DR  9-102(B)(3) (preserving 
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identity of funds and property of a client), 9-102(B)(4) (promptly paying or 
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delivering to a client the funds or properties in the possession of the 
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lawyer), 6-101(A)(3) (neglecting an entrusted legal matter), and 1-
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102(A)(3), (4), and (5) (engaging in conduct involving moral turpitude, 
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dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation, or conduct prejudicial to the 
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administration of justice).  On the day of the hearing before a panel of the 
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Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline of the Supreme 
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Court (“board”), respondent withdrew a previously filed answer and 
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admitted all the allegations of the complaint. 
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Based on the admissions of respondent and the testimony at the 
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hearing, the panel found that in the fall of 1993 respondent settled a lawsuit 
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for his client, Grace Oliver, for $55,000.  He paid himself an attorney fee 
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from the settlement, but did not remit the balance to Oliver despite her 
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repeated requests.  Oliver employed another attorney whose efforts to obtain 
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the funds were also unsuccessful.  Only after respondent was subpoenaed in 
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connection with this disciplinary proceeding did he transmit to Oliver her 
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portion of the settlement proceeds.  
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The panel further found that while guardian of his son, Christian 
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Hallows, respondent took approximately $58,000 from Hallows’s 
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guardianship account, and while guardian of an incompetent veteran, 
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Maurice Christian, respondent took approximately $44,000 from Christian’s 
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guardianship account.  Respondent has made no restitution to either the 
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Hallows guardianship or the Christian guardianship. 
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The panel additionally found that respondent began to have a 
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drinking problem in the mid- to late 1970s and that he was dysfunctional for 
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a period of eighteen months before he was hospitalized in April 1995 for 
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alcohol dependency.  Respondent has since signed and met the conditions of 
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a contract with the Ohio Lawyers Assistance Program. 
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After the hearing, the panel learned that respondent had been 
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convicted of (aggravated) theft and tampering with records. 
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The panel recommended that respondent be suspended indefinitely 
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from the practice of law and that any readmission be predicated on the 
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repayment of funds to the Hallows and Christian guardianships and the 
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repayment of any surety that was required to honor its bond as a result of 
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respondent’s defalcations.  The board adopted the findings, conclusions, and 
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recommendations of the panel. 
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______________________________________ 
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Roger Luring, for relator 
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De Wayne Smith, for respondent 
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______________________________________ 
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Per Curiam.  Public trust in the legal profession is tested daily in the 
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service provided by each individual lawyer to his or her clients.  When a 
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lawyer, who has taken responsibility for a client’s papers or property, 
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commingles client funds or dissipates that property, that lawyer not only ill 
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serves the client but also contributes to the erosion of public trust in the 
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profession.  Columbus Bar Assn. v. Brooks (1996), 75 Ohio St.3d 524, 664 
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N.E.2d 900.  
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This disciplinary proceeding involves a respondent whose clients 
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expected him to promptly remit settlement funds and to handle estate funds 
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with the utmost care.  Respondent  not only failed to remit client funds 
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promptly when requested but also filed false reports with the probate court 
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and misappropriated moneys in two guardianship estates. 
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Respondent has received criminal penalties for his fraud and 
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defalcation.  It is our duty not to punish further for these infractions but, as 
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required by our power of superintendence of the practice and profession of 
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law in this state, to determine whether and on what conditions respondent 
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should remain on the roll of those attorneys permitted to practice in Ohio. 
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During the past year we have said at least three times that the 
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appropriate sanction for misappropriation of client funds is disbarment.  
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Columbus Bar Assn. v. Sterner (1996), 77 Ohio St. 3d 164, 16, 672 N.E.2d 
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633; Mahoning Cty. Bar Assn. v. Michaels (1996), 75 Ohio St.3d 645, 647, 
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665 N.E.2d 676, 677; Disciplinary Counsel v. Connaughton (1996), 75 
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Ohio St. 3d 644, 645, 665 N.E.2d 675, 676.  This is not a new sanction.  We 
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have imposed this penalty for at least twenty-two years.  Cf. Lake Cty. Bar 
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Assn. v. Ostrander (1975), 41 Ohio St.2d 93, 70 O.O.2d 173, 322 N.E.2d 
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653.  
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In this case the board found mitigating circumstances and 
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recommended a penalty of indefinite suspension.  In a recent similar case 
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which could otherwise have warranted disbarment, we gave weight to the 
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attorney’s sincere attempt to overcome his alcoholism and the board’s 
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recommendation of leniency.  Cuyahoga Cty. Bar Assn. v. Keeler (1996), 76 
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Ohio St.3d 471, 475, 668 N.E.2d 471, 474.  For a similar reason, we adopt 
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the recommendation of the board and the respondent is hereby indefinitely 
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suspended from the practice of law in Ohio.  Costs are taxed to the 
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respondent.  
 
 
 
 
Judgment accordingly. 
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DOUGLAS, RESNICK, F.E. SWEENEY and LUNDBERG STRATTON, JJ., 
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concur. 
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COOK, J., dissents. 
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MOYER, C.J., and PFEIFER, J., not participating. 
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COOK, J., dissenting.  The thefts by this respondent involve a level of 
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volition that, in my view, is unmitigated by his addiction to alcohol.  I 
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would, therefore, disbar respondent. 
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