Sunday, April 30, 2017

NJ Bar Announces 'Last Call' For Claims From Victimized Clients Ripped Off By 15 Recently-Disciplined Attorneys

From the Office of the New Jersey Courts:
  • Daniel R. Hendi, director of the [New Jersey] Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection, has announced that any person who intends to file a claim with the fund against any of the attorneys listed below must file prior to the deadlines listed.

    The fund’s purpose is to pay on behalf of the honest majority of [New Jersey-licensed] lawyers for the wrongdoing of a few.(1) For a claim to be eligible, the attorney against whom it is filed must have been a member of the bar, acting as either attorney or fiduciary, at the time of the incident; and unless deceased, must have been disbarred, suspended or placed on disability inactive status from the bar, or convicted of embezzlement or other misappropriation of property. The attorney’s conduct giving rise to the claim must have been dishonest rather than negligent.

    The issuance of the Supreme Court’s determination to suspend or disbar an attorney activates the fund’s jurisdiction to receive claims against that attorney. There is a one-year deadline after the discipline is issued to the attorney for clients to file claims. The client’s claim does not need to be included in the ethics determination to be compensable. Discipline of the attorney does not guarantee compensability for any specific claim. Attorneys can be disciplined for conduct other than misappropriation.

    An individual client can receive up to $400,000. The fund can provide up to $1.5 million in claims against a lawyer.

    To receive a claim form, write to the New Jersey Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection, Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex, P.O. Box 961, Trenton, NJ 08625-0961, or call 855-533-FUND (3863). The form must be completed, notarized and returned with copies of any proof of the transaction. There is no filing fee. Claimants assisted in their claims by practicing attorneys receive their representation free of charge.

    Any person having a claim that has not been filed involving the following attorneys must file a claim with the New Jersey Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection prior to the deadline dates indicated below:

    NAME        COUNTY OF PRACTICE       DEADLINE

    Buckley, Christopher J., Hudson, October 21, 2017
    Collins, John J., Hudson, October 21, 2017
    Field, Arthur M., Out of State (FL), November 10, 2017
    Kusnirik, Andrew Michael III, Mercer, November 7, 2017
    Malanga, Anthony F. Jr., Union, October 20, 2017
    Mandale, Michael Z., Out of State (PA), December 7, 2017
    Noonan, Gregory R., Camden, October 14, 2017
    Paragano, John O., Union, December 16, 2017
    Rubin, Merrill N., Out of State (NY), December 7, 2017
    Scher, William G., Passaic, November 9, 2017
    Sison, Victor G., Hudson, December 16, 2017
    Smith, Nestor, Atlantic, November 4, 2017
    Suarez-Silverio, Arturo S., Essex, November 1, 2017
    Tosi, Lawrence G., Passaic, November 1, 2017
    Weichsel, John L., Bergen, December 16, 2017
Source: Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection Announces Deadlines for Claims.
----------------------
(1) 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:
Maps available courtesy of The National Client Protection Organization, Inc.