A group of lawyers are suing the governor, treasurer and comptroller to block the state from taking $2 million from a fund meant to help victims of lawyer misconduct.
Several lawyers and the Connecticut Bar Association filed a class action suit Monday, claiming that transferring the money from the Client Security Fund violates the separation of powers.
That money will be staying put until a hearing is held. An agreement was reached Monday, Ernest F. Teitell, of Silver Golub & Teitell, in Stamford, said. That should happen around the third or fourth week of May.
The lawyers are suing Gov. M. Jodi Rell, claiming that she “either directly of through her agent is responsible for initiating the Illegal Expropriation” and because she leads the executive branch, “which ultimately will receive and spend the monies subject to expropriation.”
State treasurer Denise Nappier, who maintains the fund, and Comptroller Nancy Wyman are also named.
“This is government overreaching,” Teitell said. “This was not taxpayer money.”
Lawyers set up the fund without taxpayer money to assist those who were victims of lawyer misconduct, he said. Some people have lost their life savings.
“If this money is gone, these folks will have nowhere to turn,” Teitell said.
The fund, according to the suit, was set up in 1980. Lawyers, judges and others in the legal business pay $110 each year to provide restitution for clients who suffered financial losses because of dishonest Connecticut lawyers.
From 1980 to 1999, lawyers financed it on a voluntary basis, according to the suit. After that, the judicial department assessed the fund and oversaw the fund.
In 2005, appropriate uses for the fund were expanded to pays for intervention and referrals for lawyers who have behavioral health problems or problems with alcohol, gambling or substance abuse.
Since 1999, the fund has paid $13 million to victims of lawyers who acted dishonestly. Claims for just over $8 million were filed in 2008.
Local
By the end of the year, the fund had a balance of about $7.8 million and $5.8 million in pending claims, according to a column Justice Joette Katz wrote in the Connecticut Post.
