Court Opinion

ID: 9549613
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 18:22:07.528388+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:20:36.790013
License: Public Domain

CARTER, J.
I dissent.
Although petitioner was charged with six separate counts of having violated his duties as an attorney, they all arose out of the same transaction, that is, his conduct as the guardian of the estate of George W. Bigelow, an incompetent. The local administrative committee found that his alleged misconduct amounted only to carelessness in handling and keeping records of the assets of the estate. The majority opinion determines that the third, fourth and fifth counts are not supported by the evidence. Counts one, two and six are held to establish “gross negligence” on petitioner’s part, thus justifying discipline. I do not agree with this holding for three reasons: (1) Negligence, ordinary or gross, is not a proper ground for disbarment or suspension of a member of the State Bar. (2) Even if it is, it must be negligent conduct of an attorney toward his client in handling the client’s business. It does not apply where there is no attorney-client relationship between the attorney and the one toward whom he is negligent as we have here. (3) The evidence does not establish gross negligence.
On the first point I have previously expressed myself in Stephens v. State Bar, 19 Cal.2d 580, 585 [122 P.2d 549] ; Trusty v. State Bar, 16 Cal.2d 550, 554 [107 P.2d 10] and In re McKenna, 16 Cal.2d 610, 612 [107 P.2d 258]. In addition I wish to point out that negligence in the handling of his client’s affairs is not grounds for disbarment of an attorney in a majority of the states. (See cases collected, 7 C.J.S., Attorney and Client, § 23, p. 744; 5 Am.Jur., Attorneys at Law, § 268, p. 423.)
The majority in this case goes a step further, however, which brings me to the second point. It holds that the attorney may be suspended when the negligence occurs while *176he is acting in a capacity other than as an attorney; where he is negligent with respect to his dealings with a third party, not a client. In the instant ease petitioner was the guardian of the estate of an incompetent. He was not the attorney for the estate or incompetent. The latter and petitioner had an attorney. It is true that a fiduciary relation exists between a guardian and his ward but his duty is only such as should be exercised by a man of ordinary prudence in the management of his own business. (Estate of Wood, 159 Cal. 466 [114 P. 992, 36 L.R.A.N.S. 252]; Estate of Boyes, 151 Cal. 143 [90 P. 454].) And it has been held that mismanagement of another trust estate is not ground for removal as guardian of the estate under consideration. (Heath v. Maddock, 81 N.J.Eq. 469 [86 A. 945], affd. 82 N.J.Eq. 366 [91 A. 1069].) Likewise an attorney should not be disbarred because, while acting as a guardian but not as attorney, he is guilty of mismanagement of his ward’s estate. Because an attorney is a poor businessman in his dealings with another’s property, of which he has control, but not as an attorney, should not be ground for disbarment and the majority opinion cites no case so holding.
There are many ramifications to the rule stated by the majority. The husband is the manager of the community property and he and his wife’s relations are fiduciary. Would it be said that whenever the husband happens to be an attorney, a careless handling of the community property will be a ground for his discipline as an attorney? The majority would say that it could be. Likewise, the secretary or treasurer of a club or corporation is careless in keeping its records and handling its funds, may be disbarred if he is an attorney; an attorney who borrows an automobile from a friend, not a client, and his grossly negligent operation of it results in its destruction, is subject to disbarment; a guardian who is also an attorney but not for his ward’s estate, is grossly negligent in the care of the property of his ward in an automobile and it is consumed by fire, may be disbarred; an attorney who is the guardian of the person of his ward but not as attorney, would be exonerated as to damages for any conduct, short of wilful misconduct or intoxication, in driving a vehicle causing injury to his ward, but he could be disbarred for such conduct. These and many more examples could be given which emphasize the vice of the holding of the majority opinion. The majority also point to the impracticability of requiring an attorney to be a superman, *177not only in Ms relations with his clients, but also with third persons.
Gross negligence conveys no connotation of intentional misconduct, wilfulness or intent to injure (Robertson v. Brown, 37 Cal.App.2d 189 [99 P.2d 288]; Sumner v. Edmunds, 130 Cal.App. 770 [21 P.2d 159] ; Meek v. Fowler, 3 Cal.2d 420 [45 P.2d 194]; Browne v. Fernandez, 140 Cal.App. 689 [36 P.2d 122]), but it is “the want of that care and diligence which even careless, thoughtless, or inattentive persons are accustomed to exercise; the failure to take such care as a person of common sense and reasonable sMU in like business but of careless habits would observe in avoiding injury to his own person or life under circumstances of equal or similar danger. It is very great negligence; negligence materially greater than ordinary negligence, the difference being one of degree, although sometimes it is said to be a difference of kind; negligence of an aggravated character; and gross failure to exercise proper care. The term implies a thoughtless disregard of consequences without exerting any effort to avoid them; an indifference to the things or welfare of others. It refers to conduct which is positive or affirmative rather than merely passive or negative.” (65 C.J.S., Negligence, § 8d, p. 370.) Here, as stated in my third point, the evidence was not sufficient to establish any intentional misconduct nor gross negligence.
On count one the board found petitioner guilty of commingling funds where he placed the ward’s money in a separate envelope in his safe. The majority opinion correctly holds that there was no commingling of funds. The money was produced by petitioner from the envelope where it had been all the time. It had remained there three years but there was no showing of any misappropriation of it or intent to do so, and the ward was not injured by its being so kept. Yet the majority arrives at a finding of gross negligence because petitioner’s explanation does not set at rest “suspicions” and it “tests credulity,” and that the evils inherent in commingling are present where petitioner keeps the money in his safe for three years and forgets its presence there. Disciplinary matters are not and should not be decided on “suspicions.” The only evidence shows that the money was there at all times, was never misappropriated and was always a part of the ward’s estate. If the money had been deposited in the bank in petitioner’s name as guardian for three years *178but was forgotten, it would not be called gross negligence. At most it would be ordinary negligence.
The second count deals with a failure of petitioner to include some $1,800 in his accounting. That was the same money that was in the envelope, and the same comments are applicable to it as were made with respect to the first count. Naturally he could not list it in the account if he had forgotten about it. There is no proof of any intent to misappropriate it and it was not misappropriated. The inadvertent omission of one asset of a ward’s estate from the guardian’s account can hardly be said to constitute ordinary negligence, much less gross negligence.
The sixth count deals with the failure to file an account as guardian until ordered by the court, and that the account filed was inaccurate and necessitated an independent audit. Petitioner did file an account after his appointment. If it was inaccurate, that was nothing more than negligence, as conceded by petitioner. It was not gross negligence. The account was filed and the ward was not injured. Certainly it cannot be said that such conduct constituted a failure to exercise the care a person of careless habits would exercise or gross negligence.
In my opinion the record in this case does not disclose any conduct of petitioner which can be said to even remotely justify discipline, and I would therefore dismiss the proceeding against him.