Opinion ID: 1184351
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Seide accident.

Text: In November 1969, a Cadillac driven by Joseph Seide was side swiped by another car; accompanying Seide at the time of the accident were two friends and occasional employees, Herbert Barris and Bruce Baron. Sometime thereafter, Seide contacted petitioner, a friend and business associate, to solicit advice in regard to recovery for damages allegedly sustained in the accident. In January 1970, petitioner sent a letter to Transnational Insurance Company demanding, pursuant to uninsured motorist coverage on the Cadillac, $2,550 on behalf of Seide, Barris and Baron ($850 each) because of injuries suffered in the accident. In support of these claims, petitioner attached reports issued by the Adams-Creshaw Medical Center and signed by Dr. Schuchman. Petitioner's subsequent negotiations with Transnational yielded an agreement that each of the three claimants would receive $600 for settlement of his claim. Petitioner executed releases on behalf of the claimants and upon receipt of the settlement drafts issued by Transnational, negotiated these drafts by signing both his and the claimant's name to them; petitioner wrote the claimants' signatures in a different manner than his own signature. After depositing these funds in his trust account, petitioner issued checks to Barris and Baron in the amount of $200 and credited to himself the sum of $330 which he had previously advanced to Seide as the settlement amount which he would receive. [2] After petitioner's receipt of Transnational's drafts but before checks were issued to Barris and Baron, a strident argument ensued between petitioner and Seide over the settlement negotiated with Transnational. According to Seide, the argument developed because petitioner refused to correct the settlement after being informed that none of the three was treated at the medical center. Seide testified that he had not authorized petitioner's use of his signature and that he was concerned about the amount of the settlement because he felt the driver of the other car was unfairly being sued for $1,800. Petitioner's response, Seide testified, was evasive regarding the inclusion of Barris and Baron in the settlement and was vague in regard to the reason for reimbursements for legal and medical services. Seide testified that when he was unable to obtain petitioner's rectification of the settlement, he contacted the police. After an investigation, however, the district attorney refused to initiate prosecution against petitioner. Petitioner, on the other hand, testified that Seide confronted him with a demand that petitioner give him (Seide) the $1,200 received from Transnational in settlement of the Barris and Baron claims. According to petitioner, Seide became enraged when petitioner refused and demanded that petitioner give him $25,000 or he would contact the police and claim that the settlement was fraudulent. Petitioner further testified that Seide buttressed his efforts to induce petitioner to pay him the $1,200 by claiming that he could persuade Barris and Baron to testify against petitioner. Dr. Schuchman corroborated petitioner's testimony which indicated that Seide attempted extortion; he testified that Seide made a similar demand of him for $25,000. Petitioner initially challenges the disciplinary board's finding that the medical documents which he submitted to Transnational contained false information. [3] Seide, Baron and Barris uniformly denied that they had ever been treated for injuries suffered in the accident. Petitioner testified, however, that Seide informed him that the three had secured treatment at the medical center. In addition, Dr. Schuchman and several of his employees testified that Seide, Barris and Baron were in fact at the medical center on the day following the accident. Ms. Caballero, the administrator of the medical center's physical therapy department, also testified that she administered therapy treatments to the three on a number of other occasions in November 1969. The local administrative committeee expressly refused to find that Seide, Barris or Baron had not been treated at the medical center. [4] Thus, the testimony of these three witnesses is not a strong basis for evaluating the truth or falsity of the medical reports. Nevertheless, the documentary evidence evaluated by the committee demonstrates that, as determined by the local committee and the state board, certain items on the medical reports were false. According to the medical reports, Seide, Barris and Baron received X-ray diagnosis for injuries to the neck and back. The medical center's X-ray log, which contained both the patient's name and the service provided him, purported to show that the three had been X-rayed on November 5. Other entries for that date and on surrounding pages, however, differ very markedly from those in question, both in style and in the type of ink used. This variation compels the conclusion that the entries for Seide, Barris and Baron were not entered into the log in the regular course of the clinic's operations. [5] Since neither petitioner nor Dr. Schuchman was able to present evidence explaining the evident alteration of the X-ray log, the board could properly conclude that the X-ray charges were fallacious. Further evidence that portions of the documents submitted to Transnational were false is discussed in the margin. [6] Although conceding that the evidence may support the disciplinary board's conclusion that the documents submitted to Transnational included inflated medical expense figures, petitioner further argues that the State Bar has not sustained its burden of proving to a reasonable certainty ( Himmel v. State Bar, supra, 4 Cal.3d at p. 794) that he knew the documents were false when he included them with the demand letter sent to Transnational. We believe, however, that the evidence adduced at the hearing is sufficient to conclude that the State Bar has met its burden of proof. The testimony indicative of petitioner's knowledge at the time of submission was conflicting. Seide testified that he informed petitioner that none of the three occupants of the Cadillac was injured. In addition, he testified that when the other driver's lack of insurance coverage became apparent, petitioner told him that records could be fixed so that some recovery from the Cadillac's insurer could be garnered. Seide recalled that petitioner advised that all he need do was to tell his insurance company that he was injured in the accident. Petitioner, on the other hand, denied that he advised Seide that a recovery could be fixed. He further testified that Seide informed him that he (Seide) and the others secured treatment for injuries related to the accident. Although Seide's testimony directly supports the charge that petitioner knew of the falsity of medical reports, Seide's veracity is somewhat suspect in light of the committee's express failure to accept his assertion that he did not visit the medical center as a result of the accident. Moreover, the evident animosity between Seide and petitioner, acrimoniously expressed in the argument over the settlement monies, also cautions against ready acceptance of Seide's charge that petitioner participated in a scheme to procure a settlement from Transnational. (4) Testimony against a lawyer motivated by ill-will is evaluated with greater skepticism than testimony devoid of such motivation. (See Hildebrand v. State Bar (1941) 18 Cal.2d 816, 834 [117 P.2d 860].) (5) To establish that petitioner knew of the falsity of the submitted bills, however, circumstantial evidence as well as direct testimony may be considered. ( Zitny v. State Bar, supra, 64 Cal.2d at p. 792; Abeles v. State Bar (1973) 9 Cal.3d 603, 610 [108 Cal. Rptr. 359, 510 P.2d 719].) The record in this case provides circumstantial support for the committee's conclusion that petitioner knew that the bills reflected services not actually rendered. First, petitioner's admittedly close association with Dr. Schuchman and the latter's controlling position within the medical center provided an opportunity for the procurement of false documents. Second, petitioner's transactions with Transnational indicate a lack of candor on his part. Although petitioner signed releases on behalf of Seide, Barris and Baron without indicating thereon that he was signing in their behalf, petitioner included in the letter transmitting these documents to Transnational the assurance that the releases were properly signed and executed by my clients.... Third, and perhaps most significantly, an inference that petitioner knew of the falsity of the documents is supported by petitioner's conduct in the later Martinez incident, discussed below. As we explain, there is substantial evidence in the Martinez matter that petitioner knowingly submitted false insurance claims issued by the Adams-Crenshaw Medical Center; his involvement there can properly be considered in evaluating the weight of the evidence as to his knowledge of the falsity of the Seide, Barris and Baron documents when he submitted them to the insurance company. (Evid. Code, § 1101, subd. (b); see People v. Schader (1969) 71 Cal.2d 761, 773-774 [80 Cal. Rptr. 1, 457 P.2d 841]; Witkin, Cal. Evidence (2d ed. 1966) § 341, p. 300.) (6) The record thus does contain both direct and circumstantial evidence supporting the disciplinary board's finding that petitioner knew of the falsity of medical records which he submitted to the insurance company. Consequently, we conclude that petitioner has not sustained his burden of proving the disciplinary board's findings erroneous. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 6083, subd. (c).)