Opinion ID: 1176246
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the messinger estate

Text: Late in 1981, the accused, as lawyer for the personal representative of the Messinger estate, received a $13,272.74 payment on a land sale contract, which he deposited in his trust account on November 9, 1981. The bank statement of the account on the same date showed a balance of $51,083.044, apparently including this deposit. By January 11, 1981, the trust account was drawn down to $1,173, but the $13,272.74 had not been distributed to the beneficiaries of the estate or the personal representative, and the accused could not explain what had happened to that sum. The personal representative eventually retained another lawyer, David Glenn, for the estate. At least by October 13, 1982, if not earlier, the accused told Glenn that he would shortly give him an accounting, but he did not disclose that he did not have the funds from the deposit of the previous November to transfer to Glenn. He finally made that disclosure in a letter of March 8, 1983, and he transmitted a $9,000 check at that time. In a final accounting dated March 24, the accused retained attorney fees of $1,935, although he had not obtained authorization from the court as required by ORS 116.183(1). The accused testified that he was not aware of that requirement. On April 4, 1985, he agreed to Glenn's request to repay the attorney fees. In addition to the foregoing, the accused did not timely file tax returns for the estate, causing the estate to have to pay a penalty. The Bar charged, and the Trial Panel found, dishonest conduct (DR 1-102(A)(3)), neglect of a legal matter (DR 6-101(B)), failure to maintain client funds in a trust account (DR 9-101(A)), failure to maintain records and account to the client (DR 9-101(B)(3)), and failure to deliver funds promptly to a client upon request (DR 9-101(B)(4)). Only the charges of failure to maintain client funds in a trust account and dishonest conduct require extended discussion; we find clear and convincing evidence of the other violations. The parties do not dispute that the funds from the land sale contract were funds of clients within the meaning of DR 9-101(A). The accused was the lawyer for the personal representative, who in turn is charged with responsibility for managing the estate for its owners, the heirs. See ORS 114.265. The funds belonged to the estate, which was administered by the personal representative, who was the accused's client, so the funds were funds of clients. [9] In addition to the evidence discussed in part I relating to both dishonesty charges, the record contains evidence bearing only on the accused's intent in the Messinger matter. He claims that it was possible that he deposited the funds from the land sale contract, about $13,000, in his trust account rather than opening a separate estate account, as he usually did, because he thought that would be the estate's only deposit. During the same period, he was winding up his practice in Madras and moving to Portland, and was not keeping careful track of records and files. He testified that as a result, he must have forgotten that he had put the $13,000 into the trust account. He thought the ledger card had been mistakenly put into the file rather than into the box with the other cards. As a result, his cross-referencing system broke down and caused him to lose track of the money from the estate. The accused's sudden feeble memory lapse is too convenient to be accepted. Again, we draw from the evidence clear and convincing proof that the accused intentionally appropriated the funds to his own use. Accordingly, the court finds that the Bar has proven a violation of DR 1-102(A)(3) in connection with the Messinger estate.