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In re Berryman12/28/2000
eck to the doctor's attorney. Id. at 508. The Board found that the failure to pay the doctor was inadvertent, and Bar Counsel filed no exception to this finding. Id.
In Chang, supra, 694 A.2d 877 (D.C. 1997), the respondent handled a real estate purchase transaction for his brother. In connection with that transaction he received $890,000 which he placed in his escrow account. Although, in addition to the purchase price of the property in question, the respondent had to pay property taxes, he had not obtained the tax money from his brother, but thought that there were sufficient funds in his escrow account to cover the taxes, which amounted to $8,013.77. The respondent left town for a family vacation and was unaware that two checks written on his escrow account, one for $1,000, the other for $2,000 had been dishonored because of insufficient funds. Id. at 879. Upon his return, he corrected the problem and made the payments that had been dishonored. Id. at 880. The Hearing Committee credited the respondent's explanation and Bar Counsel found it "'entirely credible.'" Id. at 879. Consequently, the Board recommended that the respondent be disciplined for negligent, rather than intentional misappropriation.
In re Haar, 698 A.2d 412 (D.C. 1997) involved a dispute between the respondent and his client regarding his legal fee for representation in an employee termination matter. The respondent demanded $12,921.75, and the client offered to settle for $4,000. Id. at 414. The attorney maintained that he agreed to accept $10,161.75. Id. Three settlement checks were received from the employer, two made payable to both the client and the respondent, and one only to the client. Id. The respondent paid the funds to the client which were represented by the check paid solely to her, and placed the joint checks in an escrow account. He then advised the client that he would take the $4,000 undisputed part of his legal fee. Id. at 414. He also advised the client that he planned to take the remainder of the fee which he claimed, but the client responded by requesting that he replace the $4,000 which he had withdrawn from the trust account. Id. at 415. The respondent refused to do so, and eventually obtained a default judgment against the client in the amount of $12,921.75. Id. We determined that:
[The respondent] mistakenly perceived no dispute whatsoever over his right to the $4,000 because he mistakenly understood the law to accord him at least that much since it had been offered in settlement. We therefore have here a special form of misappropriation case based on a lawyer's good faith, negligent mistake of established law and on his good faith, negligent failure to address a controlling question of fact. Id. at 422. Neither Bar Counsel, nor the Board maintained that the facts of this case evidenced intentional misappropriation.
In another negligent misappropriation case, also decided today, In re Travers, No. 97-BG-114 (D.C. 2000), the respondent took a $3,000 legal fee before the filing of a petition for probate, with the concurrence and signature of the personal representative named in the will, as well as with the consent of the heirs of the estate, but without the approval of the Probate Division. He also accepted a $652.74 fee for the sale of a property asset of the estate, with the consent of the heirs, but without the approval of the Probate Division. Subsequently, he was ordered to repay the estate the sum of $3,652.74, but failed to do so despite demands from the successor personal representative of the estate. The Hearing Committee concluded, in part, that he violated former DR 2-106 (A) by agreeing to, charging and collecting an illegal fee; and that under Ray, supra, he misap
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