Opinion ID: 2395384
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Caso Count

Text: In 1990, respondent represented George P. Caso in connection with a property damage claim. On August 14, 1990, respondent deposited in his trust account $1,700 in settlement proceeds on behalf of Caso. On August 22, 1990, respondent wrote a trust account check to himself or $500 as a fee, and two days later issued another trust account check to himself for $1,400. Those two checks caused the Caso account to be overdrawn by $200 and resulted in the invasion of other client funds already on deposit. On August 29, 1990, after respondent issued the Caso checks to himself for $500 and $1,400, his trust account balance was $117.59. Subsequently, on September 5, 1990, respondent deposited three checks for legal fees, totalling $1,238, in his trust account. With that deposit, the trust account balance rose to $1,335.59. The next day Caso presented to the bank respondent's trust account check number 1219, dated August 6, 1990. That check represented Caso's share of the proceeds, namely $1,500. That check was dishonored because of insufficient funds. The following day, September 7, 1990, respondent deposited $300 in his trust account to cover the Caso check. When the check was presented again, it was finally honored. The OAE charged respondent with falsely writing the August 6, 1990 date on the check to give the impression that, when it was issued, respondent's trust account contained the Caso settlement proceeds. In its Decision, the DRB noted that [f]or his part, respondent attributed the inaccuracy of the August 6, 1990 date on the check to a mistake. Respondent asserted that, because it was the beginning of the month, he had erroneously entered the prior month on all the relevant documents. Respondent denied any clever crafting attached to the wrong date on the check. Respondent pointed to the fact that, inasmuch as the proceeds had not been obtained until August 14, 1990, it was clear to everyone but him that no check could have been issued on August 6, 1990. The DRB found that respondent's defenses and claims of innocence in the Caso matter also strained credulity. It observed: Respondent received $1,700 on behalf of Caso on August 14, 1990. On August 22 and 24, 1990, respondent issued two checks to himself for $500 and $1,400 respectively. These disbursements totaled $1,900, against a $1,700 settlement. Respondent had to know that he was invading other client funds to the tune of $200, even if his claim that he was unaware of the balance in his trust account is to be believed. Regardless of whether respondent had a sufficient or insufficient balance in the trust account before he received the $1,700, he could not have reasonably believed that he had enough funds in the Caso account to support a disbursement of $1,900. That belief could not have been reasonable because the settlement amounted to $1,700 and respondent made the $1,900 withdrawal only ten days after the $1,700 deposit. Not much time had elapsed to erase respondent's memory of the amount of the settlement. There is another very serious aspect of respondent's handling of Caso funds. There is no evidence in the record that Caso authorized respondent to borrow $1,400 from the settlement proceeds. The letter from Caso that respondent introduced in evidence to establish such authority is silent about a loan. We conclude that respondent was not authorized to borrow $1,400 from the Caso account and that his disbursement to himself of $1,900 against a $1,700 settlement resulted in a knowing misappropriation of clients' funds. Again, as in the Snyder and Alongi matters, respondent violated RPC 1.15 and RPC 8.4(c).