Attorney Gets Law License Yanked For Gross Negligence In Losing Control Over Held Escrow Funds & Failing To Take Steps To Return Loot, Resulting In Over $300K In Client Losses

In San Diego, California, the San Diego Reader reports:

• David Q. Meyer has been disbarred by order of the California Supreme Court, according to State Bar records. Meyer was the escrow agent for an escrow firm named Ford & Weinberg. Meyer agreed to accept escrow funds from the company and put them in his client trust account.
  
  But Meyer didn't review the terms of the escrow agreement and relied on advice of a non-attorney employee of Ford & Weinberg. In five instances, Meyer failed to maintain the funds in his client trust account, and transferred them to an account over which he had no control, states the Bar.
  
  He committed "multiple acts of wrongdoing" through his "grossly negligent conduct" involving moral turpitude and breach of fiduciary duties, according to the State Bar. Meyer "has taken no steps to return the funds," and has taken no steps to notify law enforcement, according to the Bar. He has been ordered to pay $319,946 in restitution.(1)

Source: Attorney relied on non-attorney at Ford & Weinberg (San Diego's David Q. Meyer gets disbarred for losing control of funds).

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(1) The California State Bar's Client Security Fund is a discretionary fund that can reimburse clients who have lost money or property due to theft or dishonesty by a California lawyer. It is a State Bar program funded entirely by California lawyers. The amount the fund may reimburse for theft committed by a California lawyer depends on when the loss occurred. A maximum of $50,000 is reimbursable if the loss occurred before January 1, 2009. A maximum of $100,000 is reimbursable if the loss occurred on or after January 1, 2009.

For similar "attorney ripoff reimbursement funds" that sometimes help cover the financial mess created by the dishonest conduct of lawyers licensed in other states and Canada, see:

• Directory Of Lawyers' Funds For Client Protection (February 2017) (includes Canadian recovery funds, courtesy of the American Bar Association);
• Check the USA Client Protection Funds Map;
• Check the Canada Client Protection Funds Map.

Maps available courtesy of The National Client Protection Organization, Inc.