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Monday, September 06, 2010

Ind. Courts - "State orders disbarred attorney to pay its costs"

Updating this list of earlier ILB entries, Jeff Parrott of the South Bend Tribune reported Sept. 5th - here are some quotes from the long story:

The Indiana Supreme Court has ordered a disbarred South Bend attorney to repay the state more than $17,000 it spent to investigate misconduct charges against him.

Rod Sniadecki must reimburse the state for more than $12,000 it paid a hearing officer and court reporter who worked on the case, according to court records filed this week. He also must pay nearly $5,000 it cost the Supreme Court's Attorney Disciplinary Commission to investigate and prosecute the case.

The Supreme Court in April disbarred Sniadecki for attorney misconduct. * * *

[M]any of his former clients say he still owes them money they paid for services he never delivered.

About 80 people have inquired about receiving payments from the Indiana State Bar Association's Client's Financial Assistance Fund, and 25 of them have followed through with applications, said ISBA spokeswoman Carissa Long. The fund is composed of money that member lawyers pay as part of their annual dues.

"This is not a government program, but rather, just a bunch of lawyers doing the right thing," said Long, noting that Sniadecki was not an ISBA member. "There is no claim of right to money."

The 25 applications thus far is a record-high for the fund, Long said. Because the fund's rules say no more than $50,000 can be paid out to all clients of a particular attorney, the fund's board has decided to wait until Sept. 30 to start reviewing the claims.

Those 25 people, combined, already have claimed to be owed more than the $50,000 maximum, Long said.

"We know there are more people out there," Long said. "In order for us to evenly distribute this money, we have to know exactly how many claims we have."

Long noted that if many more applications come in, the Sept. 30 deadline might be extended.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on September 6, 2010 12:16 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts