New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 22 - JUDICIARY › Subtitle C - Ancillary Agencies › Chapter VII - The Lawyers' Fund For Client Protection › Part 7200 - Trustees' Regulations And Procedures › Section 7200.10 - Processing claims

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July
				  10, 2024
(a) Whenever it appears that a claim is
				  not eligible for reimbursement pursuant to section
				  7200.8 of this Part, the claimant
				  shall be advised of the reasons why the claim is not eligible for
				  reimbursement, and that unless additional facts to support eligibility are
				  submitted to the fund within 30 days, the claim shall be dismissed.
(b) All claims that are
				  eligible for reimbursement from the fund shall be investigated in such manner
				  as the trustees deem appropriate. The trustees shall be furnished a written
				  report of each investigation.
(c) The appropriate Appellate Division
				  of the Supreme Court shall be requested to assist the trustees, to the extent
				  the court deems appropriate, in the investigation of claims for reimbursement
				  from the fund.
(d) A
				  certified copy of an order disciplining an attorney for the same act of conduct
				  alleged in a claim, or a final judgment imposing civil or criminal liability
				  therefor, shall, for the purpose of this Part, be evidence that the attorney
				  committed such act.
(e) Upon receipt of the investigation
				  report, the trustees shall determine whether to conduct additional
				  investigation. If the attorney whose alleged conduct gave rise to the claim has
				  not been previously notified of the claim, a copy shall be provided the
				  attorney. The attorney shall be invited to respond to the claim within 20
				  days.
(f) The
				  trustees may request that testimony be presented to complete the record. Upon
				  request, the claimant and the attorneys, or their respective representatives,
				  shall be given an opportunity to be heard.
(g) The trustees shall determine, in
				  their sole discretion, whether a claim merits reimbursement from the fund and
				  the amount, time, manner of its payment and the conditions upon which payment
				  shall be made. The award of a claim shall require the affirmative vote of at
				  least four trustees.
(h) Unless the trustees direct
				  otherwise, no claim shall be awarded during the pendency of a disciplinary
				  proceeding involving the same act of conduct that is alleged in the
				  claim.
(i) In the
				  exercise of their discretion in determining claims, the trustees shall
				  consider, together with such other factors as they deem appropriate:
(1) the amount of money
				  available and likely to become available to the fund for the payment of claims,
				  and the size and number of claims that have been or are likely to be
				  presented;
(2) the
				  amount of the claimant's loss as compared with the amount of losses sustained
				  by other claimants who may merit reimbursement from the fund;
(3) the degree of hardship
				  suffered by the claimant as a result of the loss;
(4) any conduct of the
				  claimant that contributed to the loss; and
(5) the existence of other sources to
				  reimburse the claimant's loss, such as insurance, fidelity bonds or surety
				  agreements.