In re Iaquinta-Snigur

30 A.D.3d 67, 813 N.Y.S.2d 170
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedApril 4, 2006
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 30 A.D.3d 67 (In re Iaquinta-Snigur) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Iaquinta-Snigur, 30 A.D.3d 67, 813 N.Y.S.2d 170 (N.Y. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Per Curiam.

The Grievance Committee served the respondent with a petition dated October 28, 2004, containing 29 charges of professional misconduct. The respondent served an answer dated March 8, 2005, in which she essentially admitted the factual allegations, but denied that she had misappropriated any funds and that she was guilty of professional misconduct.

Following preliminary telephone conferences, a hearing was held on May 18, 2005, during which the parties submitted a stipulation with respect to 83 petitioner exhibits and nine respondent exhibits, which were all marked into evidence. The petitioner rested without calling any witnesses. The respondent appeared with counsel, testified on her own behalf and, following the hearing, submitted the affidavit of Thomas Iaquinta as an exhibit. Special Referee Becker sustained all 29 charges. The petitioner now moves to confirm the Special Referee’s report and impose such discipline upon the respondent as the Court deems just and proper. The respondent supports the petitioner’s motion insofar as it seeks to confirm the Special Referee’s report with respect to Charges One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Nine, Eleven, Twenty-eight, and Twenty-nine, she cross-moves to dis-affirm the Special Referee’s report with respect to the remaining charges, and requests that the sanction imposed be limited to a public censure.

[69]*69Charge One alleges that the respondent engaged in conduct adversely reflecting on her fitness as a lawyer, in violation of Code of Professional Responsibility DR 1-102 (a) (7) (22 NYCRR 1200.3 [a] [7]), by failing to timely investigate, account for, and effect the return of an overpayment of funds wired into her escrow account by her client.

Prior to September 13, 2001, ABN/AMRO Mortgage Group, Inc. (hereinafter AMRO), agreed to purchase and fund a loan originated by Synergy Mortgage Company, a New York mortgage broker, on behalf of borrower Daniel Dixon. The respondent was designated as AMRO’s settlement agent for the transaction, which was scheduled to close on or about September 13, 2001.

On September 13, 2001, AMRO wired $185,137.62 (representing the Dixon loan proceeds for disbursement) into the “Virginia R. Snigur Attorney at law IOLA Account,” at the Bank of New York, account No. xxx-xxx0123 (hereinafter IOLA Trust Account).

On September 20, 2001, AMRO erroneously funded the Dixon loan closing a second time by wiring an additional $185,162.62 into that account.

Both the September 13, 2001, and the September 20, 2001, wire transfers were clearly reflected on the respondent’s IOLA Trust Account bank statements for the period September 1, 2001, through September 28, 2001, which the respondent received from the Bank of New York in October 2001.

Although AMRO repeatedly requested at various times between September 27, 2001, and July 3, 2002, that the respondent account for and return its September 20, 2001, overpayment, the respondent failed to take sufficiently timely and/or adequate steps to account for and effect the refimd of AMRO’s overpayment until on or about July 3, 2002.

Charge Two alleges that the respondent violated Code of Professional Responsibility DR 1-102 (a) (2) (22 NYCRR 1200.3 [a] [2]) by failing to timely investigate, account for, and effect the return of an overpayment of funds wired into her IOLA Trust Account by her client.

This charge is predicated upon the facts of Charge One, and further alleges that the respondent knew or should have known that she was in possession of funds belonging to AMRO at all times from September 20, 2001, through July 3, 2002.

Charge Three is predicated upon the facts of Charges One and Two and alleges that the respondent engaged in conduct [70]*70resulting in the neglect of a legal matter entrusted to her, in violation of Code of Professional Responsibility DR 6-101 (a) (3) (22 NYCRR 1200.30 [a] [3]), by failing to timely investigate, account for, and effect the return of an overpayment of funds wired into her IOLA Trust Account by her client.

Charge Four is predicated upon the facts of Charges One and Two and alleges that the respondent engaged in conduct resulting in the failure to promptly notify a client of the receipt of funds in which the client has an interest, in violation of Code of Professional Responsibility DR 9-102 (c) (1) (22 NYCRR 1200.46 [c] [1]), by failing to timely discover, investigate,, account for, and effect the return of an overpayment of funds wired into her IOLA Trust Account by her client.

Charge Five is predicated upon the facts of Charges One and Two and alleges that the respondent engaged in conduct resulting in the failure to promptly pay or deliver to her client, as requested by the client, the funds, securities, or other properties in the possession of the lawyer which the client was entitled to receive, in violation of Code of Professional Responsibility DR 9-102 (c) (4) (22 NYCRR 1200.46 [c] [4]), by failing to timely discover, investigate, account for, and effect the return of an overpayment of funds wired into her IOLA Trust Account.

Charge Six alleges that the respondent engaged in conduct resulting in the misappropriation of funds on deposit in her IOLA Trust Account, in violation of Code of Professional Responsibility DR 9-102 (a) (22 NYCRR 1200.46 [a]), by disbursing funds from that account without having first received a corresponding deposit for the related matter.

Between on or about September 25, 2001, and January 10, 2002, the respondent disbursed approximately $29,000 from her IOLA Trust Account in connection with a client matter (hereinafter the Iaquinta matter).

No deposit of funds for the Iaquinta matter was made into the respondent’s IOLA Trust Account until on or about January 10, 2002.

Charge Seven is predicated upon the facts of Charge Six and alleges that the respondent engaged in conduct adversely reflecting on her fitness as a lawyer, in violation of Code of Professional Responsibility DR 1-102 (a) (7) (22 NYCRR 1200.3 [a] [7]), by converting funds from her IOLA Trust Account in breach of her fiduciary duties.

Charge Eight alleges that the respondent engaged in conduct constituting misappropriation, in violation of Code of Profes[71]*71sional Responsibility DR 1-104 (c) (22 NYCRR 1200.5 [c]), by failing to maintain an adequate balance on deposit in her IOLA Trust Account.

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Related

In re Iaquinta-Snigur
104 A.D.3d 767 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2013)
In Re Jaffe
585 F.3d 118 (Second Circuit, 2009)

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Bluebook (online)
30 A.D.3d 67, 813 N.Y.S.2d 170, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-iaquinta-snigur-nyappdiv-2006.