Opinion ID: 2386034
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: payment of runners

Text: Morris S. Berman testified that for several years before his disbarment in November, 1974, he paid cab drivers and other people to bring negligence cases into his office. Of the many hundreds of open cases in his office at all times, he estimated 25% to 40% were brought to him by these runners. Berman's secretary, Beverly Ann Benner, testified that she knew about fifteen people as the `main ones.' When a runner brought a potential client to the office an interview was conducted to ascertain the likelihood of recovery and the probable extent of the recoverable damages. Depending on this evaluation, the runner would be paid in cash an amount up to $75.00 from a substantial amount of cash kept in the office safe, to which Berman, the Respondent, and Mrs. Benner had the only keys. Berman stated that after Respondent had been in his office several months he explained the situation about the runners to Respondent at which time Respondent expressed no surprise or unwillingness to participate in that practice. Thereafter Berman saw various runners frequently in Respondent's office and it was not uncommon for Respondent to get money from Berman to pay them. When Berman was on vacation or absent from the office, which was customarily at least one day per week, Respondent would conduct the entire operation. Berman testified that by the middle of 1973, he became aware that Respondent had his own runners bringing cases directly to him, but Berman was unable to give the names of those people. Mrs. Benner's testimony was in general the same as Berman's on the subject of runners. She named four people whom she had seen Respondent pay, including Joseph Somerville. She also believed Respondent had his own runners but was unable to name anyone and had never seen Respondent make payments to any such person. Maureen Ferrar, a secretary in Berman's office, testified that she knew several men as runners, one of whom was Joseph Somerville and recalled seeing Respondent accompany runners about a dozen times into the room where the cash was kept. She actually saw Respondent pay cash to Somerville only one time. Joseph Somerville, a self-employed taxi cab driver, testified that for several years he made a practice of soliciting people involved in automobile accidents to go to Berman's office for representation and would take them there. If the people were accepted as clients, Somerville would receive $75.00 per client in cash from the office safe. This was a weekly occurrence on the average. After Respondent joined Berman's office, Somerville dealt directly with Respondent in Berman's absence and received cash payments from Respondent on several occasions. Respondent testified that within a short time after becoming associated with Berman he realized that Berman was paying people to bring cases into the office and over a period of time got to know three or four of them. He realized that this was wrong and sought other employment but without success. He first paid Joseph Somerville for bringing clients to the office when Berman was not present. He stated that Berman told him over the telephone to go to the office safe and pay cash to Somerville or else he was through. He knew it was wrong but he did it. Thereafter he made similar payments to Somerville perhaps five or six times at Berman's direction, feeling intimidated by Berman. Respondent denied making payments to any runner other than Somerville and denied having his own runners who brought cases directly to him.