Opinion ID: 1676790
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Bates Succession

Text: In 1977 respondent attorney, Jerome T. Powell, was retained by the heirs of Liner Bates to handle Bates' succession. Representing that it was necessary to mortgage some of the succession property to pay succession debts, Powell obtained the heirs' signatures on a promissory note secured by a mortgage on the Bates family home. Powell pledged the note to a mortgage company to secure a loan by it to himself in the amount of $8321.00. Subsequently, the mortgage company foreclosed on the property and demanded rent from the Bates heirs. The Bates heirs testified that they did not receive any of the loan proceeds, that although their signatures were on the note, they did not remember having signed it. In his defense, Powell testified that the heirs knowingly signed the instruments to enable him to pay the succession debts and that all of the loan proceeds were used for this purpose, for advances to the Bates heirs, or for the payment of expenses for them. Powell produced an itemized statement which purported to describe his expenditures of the loan proceeds. This statement was compiled by Powell in response to a discovery motion filed by an attorney for the Bates heirs in a civil suit and was not a contemporaneous record of the expenditures. The Bates heirs acknowledged that some of the items were valid but specifically denied having received direct or indirect benefit of many of the payments on Powell's list. Powell had never tendered a statement of account to the Bates heirs showing his fees or expenses in connection with the succession. The Commissioner found clear and convincing evidence that Powell had violated Disciplinary Rule 9-102, Preserving Identity of Funds and Property of a Client, by his failure to preserve the identity of the funds owed his clients and owed him by his clients, and/or to be disbursed by him on behalf of his clients. The Commissioner's findings are correct because Powell did not keep his clients' funds in a separate bank account, notify his clients of the receipt of their funds, securities or other properties, maintain complete records of client funds coming into his possession, render appropriate accounts to his clients regarding them, or promptly pay or deliver to the clients as requested the funds or property in the lawyer's possession which they were entitled to receive. Id. Although the Commissioner found some evidence that Powell had defrauded his clients by obtaining their signatures by misrepresentation, D.R. 1-102, and had neglected a legal matter entrusted to him, D.R. 6-101(A)(3), he apparently felt that the burden of proof had not been sustained as to these alleged violations and did not recommend any sanction in this regard. For the commingling breach, however, the Commissioner recommended a six month suspension of membership in the bar. In its brief in this court the Committee on Professional Responsibility contends that Powell obtained the heirs' consent to the mortgage of their home through fraud and subterfuge and converted all of the funds to his own use. The Committee points out that many of the payments listed on Powell's itemized statement do not relate to succession debts which the loan was designed to retire but to purported personal expenses of the heirs incurred later during Powell's unnecessary and unwarranted retention of the proceeds. Nevertheless, we agree with the Commissioner that the Committee failed to prove a case of fraud in this instance by clear and convincing evidence as required by our jurisprudence. LSBA v. Levy, 292 So.2d 492 (La.1974); LSBA v. Brown, 291 So.2d 385 (La.1974); LSBA v. Mitchell, 375 So.2d 1350 (La.1979). It is undisputed that the Bates' heirs received benefit of a substantial part of the loan proceeds, that they actually signed the note in question, and that they were aware Powell intended to mortgage succession property. While there is abundant evidence of undisciplined commingling of funds, the Committee has not sustained its burden of proof as to actual fraud.