ACF 2006 Corp v. Devereux

Attorney Conour stole more than $4.5 million from clients’ trust funds, was convicted of fraud, and is serving 10 years in prison. Shortly before Conour’s crimes came to light, attorney Devereux left Conour Law Firm, taking clients with him to Ladendorf’s law firm. These clients ultimately produced attorneys’ fees aggregating some $2 million. The money was claimed by Devereux and the Ladendorf Firm (the Lawyers), several of Conour’s victims, and the lender on a loan to the Conour Firm to finance contingent-fee cases. The district court concluded that the Conour Firm was entitled to about $775,000 under principles of quantum meruit and that the lender had priority over the victims. The Seventh Circuit reversed, first holding that the Lawyers owe the Conour Firm less than the current value of the Conour Firm’s indebtedness to the lender and substantially less than what Conour owes to the victims. Conour converted the victims’ funds before taking the loan; victims of a lawyer’s breach of trust have a remedy notwithstanding the later grant of a security interest to a commercial lender, as reflected in Indiana Code 30-4-3-22(c)(2). That priority applies notwithstanding that Conour’s firm was an LLC, a separate entity. View "ACF 2006 Corp v. Devereux" on Justia Law