Taxation & Estate Planning

More on Dunn v. Patterson

By Joel A. Schoenmeyer

The journalist side of me decided that I needed to do a little more digging regarding the Dunn v. Patterson case I discussed yesterday. I'm still trying to find out whether Patterson (the attorney) was named as a fiduciary in the documents, but while I'm waiting for that information, I checked Patterson out at the website for the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC) -- their site is here. These are the folks who handle formal complaints against Illinois attorneys. I did a search for "Lawrence Patterson" and found that a complaint has been filed against him. You can find the complaint as follows:

1. On the ARDC's site, click on "Lawyer Search."

2. Insert Patterson and Lawrence for last and first name and hit "submit."

3. Click on Patterson's name.

4. You'll get a page with his contact information and background, and if you scroll down, you'll see that a complaint has been filed against Patterson (case no. 08CH0074).

I suspected that this complaint was relating to the Dunns, but when I followed the link to the complaint (click on the "R&D" link and then click Patterson's name again), I was both surprised and not surprised.

The Dunn matter is only part of the complaint. There is also another count to the complaint, relating to a client named LaVerne Drovitz. According to the complaint, Patterson represented Drovitz in connection with a statutory custodial claim against the estate of her late husband. Here's the shocking part (Patterson is the "Respondent" here):

12. During the February 3, 2007 meeting, Drovitz instructed Respondent to accept the settlement offer.

13. During the February 3, 2007 meeting, Respondent told Drovitz that he would not accept the settlement offer as instructed by Drovitz. At that time, Drovitz attempted to terminate Respondent's services. Respondent told Drovitz that she was not competent enough to fire him and that he planned to initiate guardianship proceedings against her.

14. On March 6, 2007, Respondent filed "755 ILCS 5/11a-8 Petition for Appointment of a Temporary & Plenary Guardian of the Person & Estate Guardian ad Litem & Adjudication of Disability" (hereinafter "petition") in the Circuit Court of Will County Probate Division. The case was captioned as Estate of Laverne Drovitz, as an alleged disabled person, case number 07 P 162.

18. On March 16, 2007, Respondent met with Maloney [the guardian ad litem appointed to protect Drovitz's interests] regarding Drovitz's guardianship proceeding. At that time, Respondent informed Maloney that he planned to have himself appointed Drovitz's guardian and use Drovitz's assets to continue with the legal action referred to paragraph 4, above and pay Respondent's legal fees.

24. On April 25, 2007, Judge Goodman entered an order denying the petition, citing the physician's report that indicated that Drovitz did not have a disability.

I want to stress that the allegations in the complaint are just that: allegations. But if they are at all accurate, they certainly paint a picture of an attorney who intimidates his clients, and threatens to use the power of the law to have them declared disabled if they don't do as he says.

Full post as published by Death and Taxes Blog on December 10, 2009 (boomark / email).